Vezarius Inferno
by crystal-mist
Summary: The 'Wexos' is a super-human race of power users each unique abilities that vary from person to person. Their powers are strong and at times deadly. AlicexShun DanxRuno AcexMira and other hints..
1. Chapter 1

**Summary- **The 'Wexos' is a super-human race of power users each unique abilities that vary from person to person. Their powers are strong and at times deadly. 'In a land overrode with discrimination can they ever fit in with one another let alone with the humans?

**Details **

**Name Age Power**

**Team Vezarius**

Alice Gehabich 17 Telekinesis

Daniel Kuso 17 Elemental Control [Fire]

Joe 18 Mechanical Resonance

Mira 17 Tracking/Dimension Manipulation

**Team Inferno**

Runo Misaki 17 Elemental Control [Water: 3 phases]

Julie Makimoto 17 Illusion Creation

Marucho Marikuro 15.5 Advanced intelligence

Ace Grit 17.5 Elemental Control [Lightning]

Baron 16 Healing

**Head commanding officer of Wexos magic Foundation ****-****Micheal Gehabich a.k.a. Hal-G**

**Others**

Shun Kazami 17 Demonic materialization

**Antagonists- Shall be revealed within due course.**

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

**Chapter 1**

**Wexos**

Long ago there was a village situated near a queer secluded warehouse, a place where 'black magic' was said to be practices. One day this warehouse underwent an explosion and a mysterious fire broke forth. Fumes of various colours mixed with one another and created an unhealthy –potentially dangerous- fog. Strangely enough, in spite of the fire not a single person died. The warehouse also disappeared without a trace. This incident was top news and their miraculous escape was hailed fortunate.

The inhabitants were relocated into the city and probed for any potential change in genetic make-up due to radioactivity.

Strangely enough; everyone was healthy and there was not a single sign of mutation.

As centuries went by, this incident was soon forgotten and it became just another irrelevant page in the book of history.

But when the 444th generation of the residents came into existence, a queer mutation manifested itself in their genes.

The descents underwent a complete genetic alteration and thus were formed- ' the power users' or '**Wexos'****.**

These 'Wexos', each was unique with different superhuman powers. They were seen as outcasts and shunned by society. Their abilities were exceptional, and as a result, normal humans started to fear them... And the strangest thing was that this manifestation only occurred for the exact 444th generation and the 445th generation formed by this 'Wexos' had no such powers. They were normal humans.

Subsequently, various private organizations began to hire the Wexos to do their dirty work.

Micheal Gehabich, a scientist who was fascinated by the Wexos created an independent organization called the Wexos Magic Foundation. Why he used the word 'Magic' in the name of a group comprised of outcasts -nobody knows.

He wished for all the Wexos to live with an atmosphere of mutual acceptance rather than cruel dejection. This keen interest was developed due to the fact that his own grand-daughter was a Wexos as well.

In this story it becomes significant to focus on two particular groups of highly skilled Wexos children.

The two groups being mutual rivals- Vezarius and Inferno. These groups are comprised of early graduates of the intense vexos training program, each with unique talent and exceptional power control. They take on missions together and subsequently get paid for their services.

Their jobs include a variety of odd jobs which are at times dangerous.

'_Beep beep beep'_

A deafening alarm sounded through the entire environment and lights bleeped red. An emergency state was declared throughout the building. Men clad in black suits ran around with various contraptions in their hands.

The steady sound of footsteps echoed through the hallway as the men hurriedly inspected the perimeter in search of the intruders.

Unknowingly they passed two boys; one about 17 and the other 18. They were hiding in the shadows.

A smirk lit upon the face of the brown-haired guy. "Area clear..." he declared into his walkie-talkie [walkie-talkies shall henceforth be referred to as talky or talkies.]

"Alright Kuso, Proceed as planned, get Joe into the cloak room." came a female reply from the other end.

Daniel Kuso –one of the intruders nodded. "Right."

Dan and Joe made their way cautiously through various doors… "There." said Dan pointing to a high security lock.

Joe nodded with a determined look. He walked up to the high-tech gadget and held out his hands. He closed his eyes and a sort of series of waves emitted from his hands. The contraption bleeped a bit and then blinked. "ACCESS GRANTED."

"All set." declared Dan into his talky.

"Preparing to hack." Informed Joe as he stood in front of the computer just like he had with the previous machine...

Dan waited impatiently. Right now they were sitting ducks and if the guards appeared he would be heavily out-numbered. Not that it bothered him but right now retrieving this information was crucial. And Joe had been a bit sickly for some days now.

"Kuso… People coming your way." came a voice from the talky.

As if on cue a set of footsteps echoed through the hallway. Dan held his breath, should they hide? More importantly 'could' they hide in time?

"Thanks for the warning, Mira." He muttered half-sarcastically. He held out his hand, it started emitting a faint reddish glow. And his eyes also radiated light of the same colour. He readied himself for the battle.

The men soon reached there. They had strange devices in their hands. **They** were normal humans. They had no idea that the intruders were Wexos. And that this group of Wexos children would expose their illegal plans to the government.

Dan was about to shoot the fire out of his hand when suddenly they all dropped unconscious and a queer green smoke flooded the place. Joe was still engrossed in hacking the device using his power.

Dan recognized the smokescreen and so covered his nose and mouth and waited.

"Be more careful…" came a female voice as a red-head emerged from amidst the smoke. She had a gasmask on and clamped a similar mask onto Joe's face… She then threw one to Dan.

"Thanks Alice….I owe you one."

She smiled and crouched down beside the two guys. "You done Joe?" she whispered softly so as not to disturb his concentration.

"Just a sec…Almost done." Replied Joe as he still worked on cracking the code..

After about a minute of waiting. "Done." He declared.

Alice smiled. "Good job…" she then turned to Dan. "Let's get out of here…Now." And he nodded.

The trio rushed out of the building.

Dan took out a rock from his pocket and threw it at the window. He then threw a rope down the building's wall. He waited for Alice and Joe to descend before following her out.

But when they reached the gate they found them shut and bolts of electricity were running through the walls.

Any normal people would be terrified but Dan smirked. "They're messing with the wrong people, right chief?"

"Don't call me chief." scolded Alice playfully. She extended both her hands and her eyes shone azure blue and soon all three of them were levitating.

"Be wary of bullets." came Mira's voice over the talky.

Just then, several gunshots echoed as men tried firing at them but Alice had already used her telekinesis to erect a shield and hence the bullets fell uselessly onto the ground.

When they were at the very top they heard Mira's dissatisfied sigh over the talky.

"What's wrong Mira?" asked Dan.

"The 'Infernos' are there right at the other side of the gate…I think sent them as backup or something." said Mira.

The trio was soon on the other side and sure enough there stood four people. Well maybe the word 'teens' will be more appropriate.

"Oh lookie there, team Vezarius is here… They can't go on a single mission without backup." sniggered a green-haired guy. His name was Ace Grit and he was the 'leader' of Team Inferno.

"They probably couldn't complete the mission and are now returning empty handed…Aw now, don't cry…We'll help you…" said Julie in a make-shift sympathetic voice.

"Hm…Vezarius- Fancy name, but ain't got game." taunted Runo.

"By my calculations I am sure that **we** could have completed the task 12 minutes and 34 seconds earlier." informed the youngest and shortest of the bunch, Marucho.

Dan was about to fly off his handle. But he paused when he felt Alice's hand on his shoulder. She used her mind to talk to him [she was telepathic after all] . 'It's alright Dan…Calm down please. We don't want a fight here.'

Dan sighed in defeat. 'Alright Alice.' He told her.

Luckily Joe was normally calm and placid just like Alice and the only other irritable member of Vezarius- Mira was about 1 kilometre away.

"Thank you for being concerned but we have succeeded in completing the mission…So if you don't mind we shall take your leave." said Alice with a smile on her face.

She then led her team away from team Inferno.

T

his sweet nature of hers was always as such. It was also a well thought out strategy.

Ace hated this ability of Alice. She would always avert Inferno's taunting so skillfully… Alice would always be so sweet to them that in the end they would be speechless in her vicinity. They could neither retort nor create an argument.

Marucho straightened his glasses. "According to be calculations it is 65.8% more easier to tick Vezarius off when the 'tracker' Mira is with them and it is 99.9% easier to get on their nerves when Alice Gehabich is not around."

An anime vein popped up on Ace's forehead. "Do I look like I need statistical analysis?." He retorted as he walked away in the opposite direction Vezarius had gone.

The rest of Team Inferno followed.

"Ace, don't take your frustration out on us! I agree that it's not fair they get more missions than us and that we are always just back up; in spite of having TWO elemental warriors AND an illusionist… But pouting and self-pity won't get us anywhere." stated Runo pushing a loose strand of her blue hair behind her ear.

"We should fight for what we want." declared Ace in a determined voice.

"That's right." agreed Runo pumping her fist into the air.

Julie watched the two of them and shrugged confusedly. "It's not my fault that our team is made up of hotheads…I am normally quite bubbly and easy going myself." She said with a slightly exhausted sigh.

"Julie, who are you talking to?"

"Ah…." She stuttered. "No one in particular." She said whilst laughing nervously. Truth was Julie had this strange little habit of talking to herself a lot… but she did not want the others to know that. Perhaps that came from being a creator of illusions…

**Alright, so that was the intro done…**

**I've noticed that the intros are the most tiresome chapters to write because you have to work on getting your idea out to everyone and stuff like that.**

**I do not know what impression this first chapter created on you. I mean, I had to spend an ENTIRE paragraph explaining Wexos and their origin….That was tiresome.**

**Please, do tell me what you think, and please do continue reading.**

**REVIEW PLEASE.**

**Take care now.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews.. **

**And tell me what you think of the title… I don't know why but I thought that VEZARIUS INFERNO sounded cool. Tell me what you think, even if you think it is utterly lame. **

On with the story…

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

**Chapter 2**

Ace Grit gazed at the letter that had just arrived at the doorstep. He scanned the contents and a smile appeared on his face as he saw Micheal Gehabich's official seal at the bottom.

"Guys…We have a new job to do….And this one does NOT involve being Vezarius's back-up.

Julie's curious head poked through the entrance to the hallway. "For real?" she asked. A smile lit up her face and seeing the satisfaction on Ace's face she nodded before running down the hall. She dashed towards the girls' side of their base. "Runo!" she called out. "It's go time for Inferno."

And within a minute or two, team Inferno was assembled in the main room.

"So what's the mission?" asked Marucho.

"Infiltrate a rich man's mansion." informed Ace.

"Why?" this time it was Runo who enquired.

"Well…it seems that the data Vezarius collected on their last mission has revealed the location of a secret formula."

"What's the formula?" Julie asked with wide eyes.

"It's a secret…." said Ace sighing a bit. "Don't glare at me, Runo… I don't know the formula's use, if that's what's bothering you." Ace then looked around the room suspiciously. "Where's Baron?"

"He was called to the Main centre, apparently they needed him to heal the injuries of the Squad1 members." said Marucho standing up from his seat.

"Squad 1 hey? I've been noticing that there's something serious going on that the Wexos magic Council is trying to hide from us…We are **'kids'** after all." sighed Runo in frustration.

They got their luggage. Ace put on a pair of sunglasses. "Move out!" he ordered and each member started running in different directions.

Marucho started briefing each member of what they had to do through their talkies.

Julie reached the gate of the mansion. "Strange….It's not that heavily guarded." She informed.

"Something seems fishy." said Ace. "Never mind…Ju, do your thing."

"Right." Saying this Julie walked towards the guards. She pointed to the gate and screamed. "Is that…. Is that a homunculus? The guards were completely taken by surprise. They were alarmed as they saw a monster that was on the top of the gate. They pointed their stun-guns at it.

Julie smirked, that homunculus was just an illusion she had fabricated. She took out a little ball and threw it on the ground. Sleeping gas filled the air and the guards dropped to the ground. **[A/N: Humans with these genetic manifestations are called Wexos and the animals with genetic manifestations of lesser extent are called homunculus/homunculi.** I know, the term 'homunculus has a different meaning, but THIS is what it means in this context. **]**

Julie then climbed over the gate. She spoke into her talky. "The guards…They're…incompetent…The security is too lax to safeguard some secret potion." Julie stood on the top of the wall as the watch-out.

"Perhaps they are a bit short-handed?" suggested Runo.

"The guy is filthy rich." answered Ace. "No way can he be short-handed."

"There is something wrong about this." said Marucho… "I wonder…" but he did not complete his sentence.

"Never mind…Let's do what we came here for." said Runo as she jumped over a wall and into the compound.

Ace had already made his way into the hallway. As he ran he took special care to short-circuit any camera in the vicinity with his electricity. Right beside him ran Marucho who was busy typing some stuff into his palm computer amidst the running. They ran through hall after hall.

Runo's voice came over the talky. "I think this is a wild-goose chase guys… There isn't a SINGLE guard inside the house."

And then, a shriek echoed through the talky; Julie's shriek. "Tree!" she yelled and then the communication link with her was severed.

Team Inferno froze in their places. What did she mean by 'tree'? Was she captured by a tree or something?

Immediately, the trio ran towards the backyard and started searching for Julie.

Meanwhile Julie was imprisoned in a high-tech place with numerous computers and chrome walls. A cloth was stuffed into her mouth.

"What is a kid like you doing here?." muttered a soldier who was standing in front of her with a displeased expression on his face.

Julie widened her eyes and feigned horror, she also yelped a bit for emphasis.

The man raised an eyebrow at her. But then he turned around and was taken aback by the humongous monster that stood behind him… He winced slightly as he backed away slowly. He shouted and about four more men came running to his aid. They took out their guns and aimed it at the monster.

'Uh-oh….Busted!' thought Julie to herself as she closed her eyes and mustered another illusion… The men were surprised as the monster faded away. All of a sudden dozens of trees surrounded them and they felt as if they were standing in quick-sand. They were alarmed as they thought that they were sinking…

Julie smirked; but then a man in a silver overcoat reached the scene. He laughed mockingly as he saw the guards' naivety. The man whistled and a series of ultrasonic waves escaped his lips.

The waves pulsated until they reached Julie's eardrum and filled it with a painful buzzing.

Julie shrieked and her concentration was broken, her illusions fluctuated and ten disappeared. The other men had no idea what had happened.

The silver-coated man smirked. "A Wexos child." He muttered amusedly.

At this point of time Marucho ran towards a big banyan tree that was in one side of the giant backyard.

"Maru…Where are you going?" yelled Runo.

"I've an idea." He said as he put his hand on the tree's bark and after a few second he asked Ace to pull down a specific twig of the tree… When Ace did it; the bark of the tree slid open and a silvery passage was revealed.

"A passage… in a tree…" said Marucho, his voice full of pride at his discovery.

"Good work kiddo." Said Runo as she ruffled his blonde hair before running in the passage followed by Ace.

"Don't you DARE call me kiddo!" yelled Marucho as he followed them.

As they reached about halfway through the passage Julie's scream echoed through.

"Are they torturing her?" asked Runo, getting worried all of a sudden.

Ace did not speak anything; the pace of his running increased exponentially as he reached into his pocket and took out a little metal wire which would help magnify his electricity's conducting intensity.

Mere seconds after he reached the hallway he attacked the guards there. Runo soon reached there as well, she summoned her power. Swirls of water emerged out of nowhere and enveloped the men. They caught their throats as they failed to get sufficient oxygen.

"Don't overdo it Runo." called out Julie who was sitting in the corner. Her hands were rubbing her ears which were still ringing from the ultrasonic waves.

The man in the silver coat watched the abilities of Runo and Ace as they used their elements flawlessly.

"There…There's a wexos here… He has a silver coat on." alerted Julie.

Ace's eyes widened as he scanned the room… The man was no longer there…. A pulse started coming from further along the passage and the room was soon filled with a multitude of ultrasonic waves.

Inferno covered their ears as the irritating sound steadily irritated their eardrums.

After about a minute or two; the ringing subsided. Ace was the first to recover. "Who was he?" he asked. Ace had managed to catch just a glimpse of the man in the silver coat.

Julie shrugged. "I don't know…But he appeared to be their leader or something...And he is a Wexos."

"So… Does that mean that he has taken the secret formula with him?" asked Runo.

Marucho nodded. "Yes, most probably… But let's still search the whole place."

They nodded and scanned the whole base from ceiling to ground. Yet they were unable to find anything of significance. Unconscious guards were lying all over the place.

Marucho straightened his glasses. "I have this strange feeling that there is something serious going on…. A plot against the Wexos Magic council perhaps." He said in his childish voice which was suddenly very serious.

Marucho turned on one of the computers….he kept typing and typing. His eyes scanned the words on the screen quickly and he tried various passwords… But no matter what he did he was unable to hack into the mainframe. After about half an hour the password trials expired and the words. "ACCESS DENIED. OPERATION ABORTED!" flashed on the screen.

"It's useless." Declared Marucho sighing heavily…. "We should probably leave now." He said as he walked away from the computer down-heartedly.

"Now, now Maru….Don't feel bad." Comforted Julie… "You can't win them all you know." She said and Marucho only sighed heavily.

Before leaving the room Runo closed her eyes. When she opened them they were glinted in a luminous gold… Swirls of water appeared and then she opened her arms wide. The water turned into shards of ice. And these icy bladed penetrated the computers in the place. "NOW….They can't use whatever information they require…It's disintegrated into nothing.." said Runo in a satisfied voice before walking out.

Marucho gulped. "Julie…" Marucho called out.

"What?"

"Remind me NOT to get in Runo's bad books."

Hearing his statement both Julie and Ace chuckled. Runo pouted furiously. She would've hit Marucho on the head but she restrained herself.

She stalked out of the room and out of the tree. The rest of team Inferno followed her knowing full well that it was best NOT to interfere when Runo was mad… After all, they liked their heads _**attached**_ to their bodies..

**Chapter done Yay!**

**I wonder if this theme is a bit too…. I don't know…. A bit too awkward…I kind of suspected that it would be AWKWARD right form the very start.**

**Oh well, never mind… The deed is done and I've started writing this story and that means I HAVE to complete it. Author's code you know.**

**Thanks for reading… Shun will appear in the next chapter YAY!**

**Regardless, please do let me know what you think kay?**

**I love feedback. So REVIEW please.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

**Chapter 3**

**New Arrival?**

Numerous hurried footsteps could be heard through the corridors of the Wexos magic council as the members of Team Vezarius half-ran through the hall.

They reached a large door and Alice saluted to the guards. "Team Vezarius reporting for duty."

The doors swung open and they walked in. "Good evening ." greeted the quartet in unison.

"Good Evening." said the elderly man who sat in a huge leather chair stroking his beard. "I expect you are all well, young prodigies."

"Yes Sir." They replied.

A phone call came. "Excuse me kids." said Micheal Gehabich as he picked up the phone. Vezarius just stood in their places looking innocent. But Alice had opened a telepathic link between them.

_[A/N: Below is given the format for any telepathic conversations that may occur throughout the series.]_

**Alice:-:** _Mira, what's the situation?_

_**Mira:-: **__There's another Wexos in this room._

Alice:-: Really? But why though?

_**Dan:-: **__Some hush-hush mission maybe?'_

_**Mira:-: **_Nah..maybe it's an ambush!

**Alice:-:**_ He's my grandfather silly. Why would he plan an ambush?_

**Dan:-:**_ 'Well, you never know…He may be testing us to see if we are dependable. _

**Mira:-:**_ Honestly Dan, you watch too much television._

**Dan:-:**_ 'Hey__,__ I am not the one who brought up the possibility for an "ambush" __**carrot-top**__.__'_

**Mira:-:**_ Who're you calling Carrot-top?_ **Washed-up-Volcano**!

**Dan:-:** Control-freak."

**Mira:-: **_Obnoxious warlord._

**Dan:-: **_Droopy eyes_.

**Mira:-: **_Toothless Piranha._

**Dan:-: **_Peanut brain._

**Mira:-: **_That's rich coming from a guy whose brain is smaller than a microorganism._

**Dan:-:** Know-it-all.

**Mira:-: **Barnacle breathe.

**Dan:-: **_Perfect… I just got a new nickname for Runo–Popsicle breathe_.

**Alice:-: **_You guys. I did not open this telepathic link for you to call one another names._

**Dan:-: **_Whatever, Mira was loosing anyway._

**Mira:-: **_I was not!_

**Alice:-:** _Joe, why are you so quiet?_

**Joe:-:** You know what? _I think we have a newbie._.

**Alice:-:** _Finally! A reasonable answer to my question._

**Dan:-:** _You call that reasonable?_

Alice smiled and had to work hard to stifle her giggle.

Micheal Gehabich had finished taking the call. He smirked as he saw the expressions on their faces. Dan was pouting, Mira looked half-victorious. Alice and Joe had amused looks on their faces.

"Well…looks like the four of you are having fun." He muttered. His voice had a hint of a chuckle in it. "Perhaps you were jumping to conclusions as to why I summoned you here?"

Alice shrugged at him. "Perhaps yes."

"Fine. I will cut to the chase. I was thinking about including a new member in Team Vezarius."

Joe gave the others an all-knowing look and Dan coughed a bit.

"Well, here he is…" said Micheal Gehabich as he motioned to the oak door behind him. It opened and standing at the doorway was a boy with long black hair and golden eyes. He had his hands in his pockets and he didn't look the least bit nervous.

"This is Shun Kazami…" introduced . "I hope that you will all get along." said the elderly man as he smiled.

**Mira**:-: Guys, I'm getting this sort of huge energy reading…And his aura is a bit…ominous.

**Dan:-:** There is something not right about his cool expression .

**Alice:-:** Could you guys please stop these wild guesses?

"What's your Wexos ability?" enquired Joe.

Shun was silent and did not respond. He well and truly ignored Joe's question.

"Go on Shun, answer him." urged .

Shun nodded and then spoke. "Demonic materialization."

"What's that?" chimed in Mira. The word demonic had got her thinking.

"You'll see soon enough." He answered vaguely and Mira snorted.

sighed."Alright, alright…You may now go back to your base."

"Thank you...But I doubt you are making a mistake."Shun muttered to Micheal before following the rest of them out of the door.

Alice shot a smile at her grandfather before leaving the room. He smiled back '_I believe you people can soften that boy up.'_ He thought.

They got into the lift and Alice started speaking. "I believe that has informed you of the particulars…Well, our team name is Vezarius." And she proceeded to introduce herself and the others.

Shun didn't seem interested in the slightest.

"What's with that attitude?" whispered Dan to Mira.

"Yeah, you'd think he'd be at least a bit friendly." Answered Mira.

Shun turned his golden eyes in the direction of Dan and Mira. He had a hard expression on his face and it looked like he was saying 'I heard that'.

Dan and Mira froze. They hadn't expected Shun to have been listening.

The elevator door opened and they walked outside. Shun walked wordlessly with his hands tucked in his pockets.

"So Shun…I'm curious to know more about your power…The name sounds enigmatic." stated Joe, who was the most inquisitive one of the group.

"Enigmatic." repeated Shun in a low voice. His face seemed to darken more.

Alice noticed that Shun was really not comfortable talking about his powers. "Alright then…At least tell us what criterion …We need to know what to work with." She stated

From the corner of his eyes Shun looked at Alice and was surprised to see that the expression on her face resembled that kind understanding yet earnestness that was on 's face.

"Offence." He muttered. "Close-range attacks and rapid combat."

Alice considered for a bit. "Hn…I see…"

They reached their main room. "Hm…I guess Shun'll have to bunk in with Dan." muttered Alice frowning a little.

"What? Him? In MY room? No way Alice…No way."Dan exclaimed.

"Now Dan, don't be possessive…" Alice responded to his whining.

"Why can't he share Joe's room?" he persisted.

"Because Joe's room is way too small… And besides we use half that room as a 'storage area' remember?" chimed in Mira with a smile. She was really enjoying Dan's distress.

"Oh Fine!" he declared; displeasure evident in his voice.

The others excluding Shun laughed. Alice smiled at him. "Don't worry about Dan; he's such a drama queen."

Shun downright ignored her. He doubted having accepted 's offer to start afresh.

They soon received another mission…

Joe frowned as he looked at the A4 sized sheet that was in his hand.

"What's wrong?" asked Mira tapping his shoulder.

"We are escorting a government official through a forest?" he exclaimed.

"What?" Dan's face lit up. "Finally! A serious job." He shouted.

They got packing and in about half an hour was all set to leave. Shun was quiet and wouldn't talk to anyone. He wasn't the most interactive type.

The reached the rendezvous point and picked up the minister and his daughter.

The minister was rather displeased that he received a group of 'children' as his bodyguards. His daughter was however a young girl and was delighted to have some company.

Alice noticed Joe's serious expression so she stopped talking to the minister's daughter and opened another telepathic link.

**Alice:-:** What's bothering you?

**Joe:-:** There are two things I can't understand. First, why assign a group of children to guard and important officer like him? And second, why are we travelling by a horse-drawn carriage?

**Alice:-:** Good question.

**Shun:-:** It's a test.

Alice's eyes widened in surprise. She had opened the telepathic link only for Joe and herself.

**Alice:-:** How did you…How did you infiltrate this-

**Shun:-: **Classified Information.

**Joe:-:** Full of secrets, aren't you?

Dan yawned as he stretched himself.

Mira abruptly sat up straight, her eyes wide. She closed her eyes, positioned her fingers on her forehead. "Trouble…" she informed the others. "I can detect at least four different Wexos life forms and one human. Plus, they're approaching very fast."

As if on cue something jolted the carriage, almost as if something had landed on its roof.

"It's go time." Declared Dan.

And in a flash everyone dashed out of the carriage… Mira took hold of the minister's daughter's hand and started running further into the forest. Joe and the minister followed their lead.

Alice, Dan and Shun went out of the carriage as well and came face to face with three people, all older than them and clad in black suits.

One of them jumped down right in front of Alice. "Children? You've got to be kidding me." He laughed.

Dan's eyes lit up crimson as flames surrounded his fist. In a flash he punched the guy who stood in front of Alice right in the gut. And the man was sent flying into a nearby tree. "How do you like that?" taunted Dan.

The man soon returned to his feet. He dusted his clothes a little. "Hm...This is gong to be fun." He muttered. One of the men jumped down and joined the while the other remained perched on the branch of the tree.

Wings emerged from the back of one of them. And he pulled out a club from nowhere... "Let's roll." He muttered as he proceeded to attack Dan.

The other man nodded in agreement. He made some kind of motion with his right hand.

The trees around the place started moving. The branches twisted and turned around.

One of the twigs crawled up to Alice's legs and entrapped her. She struggled to move. Dan was distracted for a brief second.

"Don't worry about me now, focus on your own fight." shouted Alice. "And Shun, do something. Don't stand around like a statue!"

He briefly looked/glared at Alice before obeying her orders. He intervened the battle and he fought the winged guy with the club unarmed while Dan focused on defeating the tree controller.

The other man on the tree jumped off it and landed right in front of Alice. "SO tell me, where did your comrades run off to?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that." Replied Alice as she smiled warmly.

"Huh…You shouldn't take such risks little girl…" he spoke as if addressing a young toddler.

An anime vein popped on Alice's forehead. [A/N: Rare.] "And what about you mister? You are a regular human being. You should be cautious while dealing with Wexos."

"Are you one?

Alice didn't answer but stared back at the man.

"Won't your parents be worried?" he asked in a taunting voice.

Alice chuckled as she looked right into the man's eyes. After about ten seconds of blank staring Alice asked. "And tell me. Does Louisa and Mikey know that you are into shady-shady business?"

"What?" the man muttered in disbelief.

"Why…why does this brat know the name of my wife and son?" Alice muttered the thoughts that were running through his mind. "If Louisa knew the kind of job I worked she'd be heartbroken." And Alice continued reminding him of his deepest darkest secrets.

After about five minutes or so, the man figured out her sentimental blackmail strategy. "You thought that you could mess with my head, did you? You freak!" Saying this he pulled out a knife. "You think I'm weak, do you? We'll see." He brandished the knife and smirked.

Alice gulped; perhaps she took things a tad too far.

Dan noticed this. He also knew that he wouldn't make it in time to help her but still, he had to try. He shot a fireball in the hawk man's direction and dashed towards Alice. "Alice…." He shouted,

That was when Shun turned his attention to where Alice was. His eyes narrowed as he saw the knife that the man was about to attack her with.

The man raised the knife and Alice closed her eyes as she prepared herself to erect a shield with all her mental strength. She knew that she could protect herself from the knife long enough so that Dan could reach the sight.

Alice's concentration was broken as she heard a wail. She opened her eyes only to see the knife on the floor and the man on his knees. "My…arm, I think he's broken it." He howled.

Shun was standing right beside the man._ 'How did he make it here so fast? It's not humanely possible._' Alice thought to herself.

Shun then walked towards her. He pulled the sleeve of one of his hands; there were weird tattoo marks on it. And then; his hand started transforming. It acquired a metallic shade and claws emerged.

He swished it sideways twice. The branches that were around Alice fell to the ground in pieces. Her eyes were wide in surprise.

"Demonic materialization." Alice whispered; finally understanding the hidden meaning behind Shun's powers- he was able to transform himself/parts of himself into a demon. And from the looks of it, the demon seemed devilishly strong.

**And that's the end of that chapter.**

**How was it? I hope that you liked it. Give me your valuable feedback and your opinions.**

**Thanks for all your wonderful review guys.**

**So without fail please keep reading and subsequently do leave a review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

**Chapter 4**

Shun's powers- he was able to transform himself/parts of himself into a demon. And from the looks of it, the demonic side seemed devilishly strong.

His gaze was stone cold; he said nothing as he turned away from her and proceeded towards the hawk-man who still had a club in his hand. And for the first time Alice and Dan witnessed the decisiveness of Shun's ability. He was fast, smooth and precise. Close combat specialist indeed!

Dan helped Alice back to her feet and soon the hawk-winged man and the tree-controlling guy was defeated.

Shun morphed his hand back into human form.

Meanwhile Mira and Joe were still on the run with the minister and his daughter.

They were being pursued by at least a dozen other people.

"Mira, I thought you said that there were only four Vexos and one human… But-"

"Joe, I am positive… I can only detect one life form following us." She answered indignantly.

"Maybe, the others are illusions." suggested the minister's daughter.

"Don't be absurd!" both Joe and Mira exclaimed at her.

She was intimidated by the seriousness on their faces so she did not utter another single word. Joe was racking his brain… What could this be?

They soon reached a clearing and to the minister's utter dismay/horror they were surrounded by hideous metallic contraptions.

"Robots." Mira gasped in a 'why didn't we think of that possibility?' voice.

Mira confirmed the location of the Wexos who controlled these 'things'. And he soon emerged, looking very pleased with himself.

Joe and Mira were not the ones who had offensive powers. But then, that sagacity on Joe's face seemed almost uncanny.

"You have to be the weakest link of the group." snickered the man who also was dressed in a black coat and suit.

"Really?" taunted Joe as he snapped his fingers. As he did so, one of the robots dislocated itself and fell to the ground in a heap of scrap metal.

Mira's face lit up in a bright smile. "I didn't know you could do that." She said in a pleased voice.

"You thought that the only thing I could do was hack into computers?" asked Joe raising and eyebrow.

He snapped his finger once more and one more robot fell to the ground.

The man seemed distressed. "ATTACK!" he cried out desperately.

The robots launched a simultaneous attack. Mira had a thick stick in her hand, ready to fend off any robots that tried to attack the minister.

Joe closed his eyes and initiated the strongest resonating signal he was capable of.

ALL the robots fell into bits and the man robot controller was left there gaping.

Mira was indeed surprised as Joe's power. "Good work." She congratulated.

"Thanks." Muttered Joe as he coughed a bit, he could feel his head getting heavy. He had overexerted himself. He fought his fatigue and manages to keep his eyes open.

More robots cam emerged out of a little compact box the man held and Joe was once again able to disintegrate all of them. Although powerful, these attacks were taking its toll on him. He felt as if he were about to collapse but he held on, for Mira's sake.

Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted a blob of orange and immediately identified it as Alice. Dan and Alice rushed over to where they were as Shun just stood there as if he cared about nothing in this world.

"You guys alright?" questioned Dan.

Mira nodded. "Thankfully Joe saved us with his powers."

Joe smiled as a sensation of triumph resounded in his tired mind. "Thank Goodness, you guys made it in the nick of time." Just as these words escaped his lips he fell unconscious.

Dan and Mira held him and gently set him down against a tree.

The man in the black suit smirked. "Your trump card's been terminated. Too bad for you. Hand the minister over if you value your life." And many more robots appeared.

Alice's carefree look left her face. She hoped that Joe would be alright. They had to get this done with as quickly as possible.

"Dan…It's go time." She instructed and then turned towards Shun. "I mean you too…"

Shun said nothing, his face bore no expression as usual. It looked like he hadn't heard what Alice said.

Mira snorted in disbelief. What was wrong with this self-conceited jerk? He should help.

Dan did not waste a single moment and started the battle. Alice had one of her hands on her forehead and the other one was extended forwards. Occasionally she would send one robot ramming into three or four others and Kablaam!

Alice turned her gaze towards Shun and raised an eyebrow in an 'are you deaf!' look.

Shun gazed back at her, not the least bit intimidated.

And soon a sigh escaped Alice's pink lips.

**Alice:-:** _Please?_

**Shun:-:** _Don't barge into my mind without my permission._

**Alice:-:** _Well?_

Shun once more rolled up the sleeve of his right hand and it once more morphed into that silver metallic arm, the scaly arm of a demon. And then he went on a robot splitting spree.

In the end, Dan managed to get himself close enough so that he could burn/melt the contraption in the man's hands. Apparently, the contraption was responsible for the endless sea of robots which kept them busy.

Then- Thwack! And the man was unconscious.

The minister was dumbstruck. And his daughter was filled with wonder. Alice managed to carry Joe back into the carriage with her levitating ability.

Soon they crossed the forest and dropped the minister at his destination. Then they made their way back to the Vezarius headquarters.

Alice went into the phone booth and dialed a number.

The others were right outside, Joe was in his room.

Dan had his arms folded across his chest and his mouth pulled into a taut line. "I really do NOT like the idea of calling **them** for help." He muttered to himself.

"Hello, Inferno headquarters." came a male voice from the other end of the receiver.

"This is Alice."

"Hm?"

"We need Baron."

"Hn."

"Will you please quit it Ace?" said Alice slightly irritated. "Joe is hurt…I think."

"So, one of you has a booboo. What am I to do for you, your majesty?"

An anime vein popped on Alice's forehead. "Stop it…" then she sighed. "Don't let's be childish… We need your help…" Guilt of not being to able to help Joe overtook her. "Please, if something happens to Joe then I…I…"

"Fine, don't get your pretty little head in a knot. We'll come…"

Alice smiled. "Thank…you."

Ace's features softened. "How's…" he gulped. "You know who I mean."

Alice face wasnow filed with a sly smile. "The newcomer you mean? He's a bit conserved but other than that-"

"Alice…You know exactly who I meant." He cut her short.

"Hm…" she decided not to tease him any more. "She's still mad at you…" said Alice in a low voice.

"Still? Well, I hope she doesn't bite my head off or something." He muttered in an irritated voice.

"Oh just admit It." said Alice. "You have a crush on Mira."

Alice's statement was answered with a faint bleeping sound. Ace had probably disconnected the phone...

She the opened the door of the booth and nodded to the others. "Baron's coming…And Ace is too."

Mira snorted. "Why does **he** have to come too?"

Soon Baron arrived alongside Ace.

"Come in." welcomed Alice with a smile. As Baron and Ace entered Joe's room they were surrounded with what was like an extremely hostile atmosphere. Mira was glaring at the wall for no apparent reason, Shun, well Shun was Shun –silent and unperturbed, Dan had this annoyed look on his face and Ace's face mirrored the same annoyance. Alice and Baron were smiling waveringly, they were sorry for Joe who definitely would feel the unpleasantly negative vibe that was engulfing the whole room.

After checking his temperature and all that Baron held his hand in front of Joe and emitted this green light.

He then turned to Alice. "It's fatigue. He overexerted himself… And he had always bee a bit sickly in the first place right?"

Alice nodded.

"I would advice that he stayed away from missions and all that excitement for a while…We don't want him to cause permanent damage to himself, do we?"

Alice nodded. "Thank you so much for coming Baron."

"It's nothing." replied the pink haired boy.

"Perhaps you would like to stay to tea?" asked Alice, she knew that the offer was hollow because everyone seemed so displeased.

Mira abruptly stood up from her chair and walked out the door.

Ace seemed a bit more alert. "I need to use the washroom." He said as he walked out as well.

Alice knew very well that Ace was going after Mira but she said nothing. Baron however stood there wide eyed, he was ever so confused.

"Well, Baron…You should wait for Ace to return... Meanwhile, this is Shun. He's our newest member."

Baron smiled at Shun and was a bit distressed at not receiving any attention whatsoever.

"He's just a haughty fool." muttered Dan as a way of an explanation.

Shun said nothing. His intimidating golden eyes just glared at Dan. Alice sweat dropped; distracting Baron was going to be hard, really hard!

Meanwhile Mira reflected on exactly why she had left the room like that? All she had to do was stay put, it was easy enough. But her steps were without any destination so she stopped after a little while.

She heard some footsteps heading towards her. She sighed, expecting it to be Alice who came to comfort her.

But when she turned in the direction of her pursuer she was met with a green-haired guy. Her eyes widened.

"What are you doing wandering around?" she asked him.

He shrugged his shoulder and did not reply.

She then turned away from him and walked away at a faster pace but he held onto her hand. He tugged at her and prevented her from moving any further.

"What...do you think you are doing?" she muttered fiercely.

He moved closer to her. Her eyes widened as she felt him right behind her, just centimeters from her. A red blush covered her cheeks.

"L…let me go."

"Hm...I doubt if that is really what you want." He muttered as he rested his chin on the top of her head. He smiled as the flowery smell of her shampoo penetrated his nostrils.

"I said, let me go." She instructed more sternly.

"Fine…" he said letting go of her hand. "Now don't say I didn't try apologizing." And with that he removed his chin from her hair.

She turned around to face him and pointed her index finger at him. "This is NOT what I'd call an apology!" The expression on her face was becoming unstable "You are just being your arrogant self...You don't care if I'm hurt or not."

Ace's eyes widened as he heard her statement. "Mira I…"

"I don't want an explanation…I don't want an apology either… Just…." Tears threatened to flow down her cheeks. "Stop…" her voice was lowered to just a whisper. "Stop toying with me like this… I have feelings you know… I am not made of stone."

"I never said that-"

"Please just stop…I beg you."

His face dropped and let out a regretful sigh. He couldn't answer, he was at a loss for words so he said nothing, and he turned and walked back to the Vezarius main room.

Mira stood there as if rooted to the spot. Then she shakily made her way to her room and flopped onto her bed. She clenched her fists as the tears finally escaped her eyes. "Stupid Ace." She muttered; her voice sounding muffled through the pillow.

**Fourth Chapter done.**

**Hm..m Yeah, I guess this plot does really seem to resemble the X-men… I like the X-men series, big fan of Jean Gray and Rogue. Although I much prefer the animated versions than the actual movie. How about you?**

**Be so kind as to leave me a REVIEW please.**

**Thanks. Until next time. Bye bye…**

**Ps- I am planning on launching a new story…So tell me which title is better kay?**

**My Muddling Mirage.**

**My Mesmerizing Mirage.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I meant to update this sooner but then some sort of unforeseen mishap occurred and I ended up updating a blank page for the 5****th**** and 6****th**** chapter…I am so sorry for the inconvenience… I really wonder what happened earlier.**

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

**Chapter 5**

Joe sat up in bed and turned his attention to the orange-haired girl sitting on a chair beside him.

"So, what's the deal with Mira? She's been acting grumpy."

Alice raised her eyes from the book she had been reading. She sighed a bit "Ace." She answered in one word.

Joe nodded knowingly. "So chief, just how long do you plan to keep me bedridden?" he asked.

"Stop calling me that… And I'm sorry, but you'll have to sit out for a few missions."

Joe nodded, he wanted to protest. But he didn't want to make more trouble for Alice. She already had to deal with a disgruntled Dan, a somber Shun and a very moody Mira.

Back in Inferno headquarters it had been a laid back couple of weeks. Julie took advantage of it and dragged Runo to all sorts of shopping malls.

In the main room sat Ace in a large comfortable chair with his palm covering his face. _'What's wrong with me?'_ he muttered to himself. He failed to notice a short figure entering the room.

"What's wrong?" came Marucho's voice.

Ace immediately sat up straight and looked accusatively at Marucho. "Just leave me some personal space; midget..." He muttered harshly.

"Fine." Marucho answered just as callously. Just as he was leaving, Marucho raised his voice "There is a 99.6% chance that this bad mood of yours began after your visit to Vezarius. And there is a 110% chance that the cause for it is someone of the female species whose name begins with 'M' and ends with an 'A'… Oh did I mention there was an 'I' and 'R' in the middle?"

Ace glared at Marucho's disappearing figure. "Darn kid!" he snorted as he settled back into his chair.

Marucho's grinning face appeared at the door again. "And when read together it pronounces 'Mira'." He quickly ran away before Ace could chuck one of the heavy flowers vases at him.

_*Flashback*_

Ace was in one of the training grounds in the Wexos academy. He was undergoing target practice.

He sat on his knees with his arms extended; he closed his eyes and focused his lightning bolt right at the middle of the bull's eyes. He missed narrowly.

"Hm… Not too good.." came a female voice from beside him.

Ace opened his eyes and looked half-annoyed as he saw Mira standing there with her hands tied behind her back.

"It was **close**." He retorted.

"Close? Yes, but I would never entrust my life in your hands at this rate." She stated playfully.

"Hn…" a faint trace of pink crossed his cheeks. "Is that so?"

Mira's eyes widened as she realized that he actually took it seriously. "Uh-huh."

Ace stood up. "What do you plan to do after the academy?"

Mira did not spend even a fraction of a minute considering. "I plan to graduate early… And then get into a minor mission team."

"But, only one such team exists. And Vezarius has limited entries."

"My plan remains unchanged."

"I'm leaving." Ace declared standing up all of a sudden.

Ace walked nearer to her, cupped her cheek and whispered something in her ear. "See you in Vezarius then."

A crimson blush highlighted Mira's face as she only nodded. "Alright."

And then he walked away…

_*Flashback end*_

A hint of a smile hinted Ace's lips as he thought about all this…He worked really hard after that day and managed to graduate early. But then, after he had graduated seemed to notice his immense potential. So he was given a new team of his own… That was how 'Inferno' was born.

But then, their rivalry had never been a hindrance to Mira and him. They'd still have their normal meetings and eventually they even went out on a few dates. The dates were however hush-hush and Alice was the only person who knew of their 'secret' relationship.

Just when did things turn out this complicated?

Sure, Ace knew the answer to that question very well. But he did not feel like reflecting upon it. No; not at that particular moment.

It was Dan's turn to keep Joe company now and so Alice left. She wondered if she should visit Mira but then thought against it.

She then remembered something she'd been meaning to do for some time now.

She headed out of the headquarters and entered the elevator. She pushed the button that bore the words 'roof'. She hummed softly as she waited. There was a little ding as the elevator reached its destination.

Alice walked onto the terrace. It was nice and windy up there. She really liked the feeling of the cool wind against her face.

And then her eyes rested on the lonesome figure of a black-haired guy. She took a deep breathe and then approached him.

"Why is it that all loners prefer high spaces?" she muttered as she sat down by his side.

He said nothing. He just continued to stare off into the distance.

"You know, it wouldn't hurt if you were just a teensy bit kind."

"Sure." He muttered. "That's what you think."

She just gazed at him in amazement. She sensed that there was perhaps a good reason that he was so unfriendly. So, she did not display any form of anger at him. "Can we please cut the sarcasm?" she asked.

And then once again she was met by silence.

She sighed as she realized that this was going to be hard. So she just sat there. Each was engrossed in their own line of thought.

Shun looked at her from the corner of his eyes. Why was this girl so persistent? This was not the first time she tried showing unconditioned friendliness. And why did her pleasant expression always remind him of his sister?

He shook his head from this line of thought.

Alice turned to him only to fine his gaze fixed on her. Without knowing it, her face was hinted with a slight pink blush. "What?" she asked.

He only turned away from her.

"So…What are you thinking about all the time?"

"…."

"Did you study at the Wexos academy?"

"No."

"So…when did you first discover your power?"

Shun glared at her and this half-scared Alice….It was evident from the disgruntled look from his face that he absolutely detested his ability.

"None of your business." He muttered gruffly.

Alice felt a wave of guilt overtake her…Life must have been hard for him. "I'm sorry…" she whispered. "I apologize for asking."

Shun was surprised that she was actually apologizing. And then they relapsed into silence.

"It's almost time for lunch." Said Alice standing up. "Let's go." She said holding out her hand to him.

He stared at her nonchalantly… But he made no move. "You may leave alone." He said. Hostility was now at its peak.

Alice sighed once again. "You really are a handful, you know." She muttered with a subtle smile.

Shun's golden eyes widened as he heard those words…His sister Sayaka, she used to say that too…And she used to have that same smile on her face, that very same heart-warming smile.

Shun closed his eyes and turned away, showing Alice that he was ignoring her. As he closed his eyes, Sayaka came back into his memory.

Sayaka Kazami. Her beautiful face, her stunning smile and flowing black hair resounded in his visualization clearly. And then this sort of bright scarlet drenched her form…The disturbing colour of blood overtook his vision… Before it could unfold any further he forced his eyes open. Sweat ran down his forehead and his breathing was heavy and burdened.

He half-jumped when he felt Alice's arm on his shoulder. "Don't touch me!" he bellowed in panic.

Alice was taken aback and withdrew her arm immediately. Her eyes were wide in surprise as she tried to comprehend what made Shun all jumpy like that. "What….what's wrong Shun?" she asked, her voice drenched with concern.

He looked at her. He was momentarily touched by her concern… But he stood up, his palm planted on his face trying to calm himself down. "Stop trying to approach me like that….Take my advice… It will do no good…For me nor you." and saying that he left her.

Alice stared after him. A thud sounded as the door was brought to a close. "There is something he is hiding…" she whispered to herself. "I wonder if it is something sinister."

She spent a considerable amount of time wondering just what it is that made her grandfather recruit Shun to one of the mission teams instead of enrolling him in the Wexos academy first. One thing was sure though; 'Vezarius' was being kept in the dark about the matter.

She soon returned back to their main room. Joe was now out of his bed and sitting on the couch reading some manga….Dan was in a chair across the room.

"Where's Shun?" asked Alice.

"He said he didn't want any lunch." Joe answered seeing that Dan wouldn't.

"What's with that guy anyways?" muttered Dan. "Acting so smug… Who does he think he is? The king of the world?"

"Dan…Quit being obnoxious." instructed Alice.

Dan pouted at her. "Sure, now **you** take his side." He muttered.

Alice ignored his statement, so did Joe. Just then the door opened and Mira walked into the room.

She smiled at her teammates. "Hey guys…"

"Feeling better?" asked Joe.

Mira nodded… "I'm sorry for being aloof all this time…" she said with a sweet smile.

"I guess we should have lunch without Shun." declared Alice.

"It's not like he joins us in normal circumstances…" muttered Dan. "Honestly Alice, that guy sneaks around too much… I mean, he hardly ever talks and his eyes are so cold almost all the time… Sometimes I wonder if he is a spy."

"You know Dan…Up until now I thought that Mira was exaggerating, but she's right. You **do** watch too much television." Said Joe duly taken aback with Dan's wild conclusion.

But then a sort of string strummed in Alice's mind… Was Shun a spy? Was that why he told her to stay away from him? He was one of the least sociable people she had ever seen…The chances were high; his ability was so powerful, so exceptional, so dark, so…sinister… And he was so skilled at combat.

No normal child should have such sharp battle instincts unless given special training.

But then, spies were supposed to act friendly and then backstab you when you least expect it.

Alice instantly felt distracted… "On second thought guys…I don't feel hungry either." She said. "Please excuse me." And with that she retired to her room.

Joe stared at her as she walked away. _'What is that has caused such interest in you, Alice?'_ he thought to himself.

Elsewhere- in the middle of a shopping mall, a girl with blue hair stood in front of a changing room stomping her feet impatiently.

"Julie…Will you please come out…You've been in there forever!" she half-shouted.

A sort of high voice came from inside the room. "Aw…Come on Runo… Five more minutes…This pink top is just too cute for words but it's a bit tight,"

"Then buy the next size, darn it!" exclaimed Runo.

A sigh came from within. "You really are clueless about the world of fashion, aren't you?"

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting Julie finally came out with the pink top draped over her shoulder. "I'm getting the next size." she informed.

Runo sighed. "You should've done that half-an-hour ago."

Julie bought the clothes and now the both of them headed towards the food court.

Unbeknownst to them two shady men in white coats were watching them.

"Are you sure that this is the one?" one asked the other.

The other man nodded… "That blue-haired one with power to manipulate ice, she was the one who destroyed that secret base behind the tree."

"Hm…One down four to go…" said the man fanning out five photos of five people –Runo, Dan, Baron, Ace and Alice.

"That old man Gehabich…I wonder how he managed to round up such a '**talented' **bunch of kids…"

"But we should wait a bit more before actually capturing them."

"I know…I know…But just think…Water, fire, healing, lightning and telekinesis… Such a terrific blend...Once we capture them all…We will be unstoppable."

**IMPT A/N: Alright…Some of you requested me to upgrade Mira's power…And I decided that it would be a good idea…So, if you don't mind give me suggestions. "What should be Mira's upgraded power?" Tell me in a review.**

**Thank you for you support guys and thankyou for reading. **

**Leave a REVIEW if you please.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

Vezarius was called over for a few more mission and they did it to perfection even without Joe. Sure, Alice had some trouble rounding up Dan, Mira and Shun but apart from that it was smooth sailing.

Alice started observing Shun more closely now. Not that it made much of a difference. He was his same old hostile self -no improvement.

He showed no visible signs of being a spy, nor did he ever emit a smile. He would always spend most of his spare time on the rooftop doing particularly nothing.

"Stop trying to approach me like that….Take my advice… It will do no good…For me nor you." he had told her. Alice could neither comprehend his behaviour nor could she decipher the motive behind his statement.

Maybe he was still having trouble letting go of his past… His power was dark enough… And he might have lost the ability to trust.

"That's it!" Alice exclaimed in delight at finally having figured out the reason for Shun's hostility.

Dan was in the kitchen. He was fumbling about in front of the refrigerator. He was apparently searching for a bar of chocolate he had left there and he couldn't seem to find it anywhere.

In walked Shun as coolly as ever. Wordlessly he reached over Dan's shoulder and took out a carton of apple juice.

Dan almost jumped out of his skin.

Shun however wore an unperturbed expression as he poured the juice out into a glass. Dan glared furiously at him. "You nearly gave me a heart-attack!" he exclaimed.

"Blame your frail heart." muttered Shun not even looking at Dan.

Dan fumed up. "Have some graciousness, why don't you?"

"Like you're one to talk."

Dan shut the door of the fridge with a loud bang. His glare on Shun further intensified as he saw the chocolate wrapper in Shun's hand.

"You ate my chocolate bar!" exclaimed Dan. Now, food was something Dan would not compromise... And chocolate was his most prized possession. Everyone knew that.

"…"

"Answer me."

"Obviously."

Dan snorted…He really did not like this guy. "Who the hell do you think you are? We're letting you stay here in spite of your horrendous ego…And you-"

"Dan, are you picking a fight?" he was interrupted by a female voice. Alice was standing at the entrance, her back to the wall.

Dan said nothing, only turned to Shun. "You'd better buy me a new one." And then he stormed out of the kitchen.

Alice sighed as she walked over to one of the storage cupboards. "You don't have to worry about Dan…He's always been a hothead." She spoke to Shun.

Shun said nothing and just drank his apple juice.

Alice took out a leftover piece of cake. She placed it on the counter. "Want a slice?" she asked Shun.

"…"

She did not urge and answer out of him. She just cut out two slices and placed them on two plates.

She extended out one of the plates towards Shun.

He looked at the cake she held. "I don't want-"

"I've already sliced it…" She said pouting. "So you'd **better **eat it."

He said neither reacted nor said anything.

"Aww…Come on Shun." she extended the plate closer to his hand. "Oh…No. Don't tell me you want me to feed it to you!" she said, covering her mouth with her hand in mock incredulity...

"Don't be ridiculous."

She smiled at him. "I don't like it when people want to waste cake of any kind….So, Oh…I'm not kidding..." saying this, she took a spoon and scooped up a little of the strawberry cake. "Say 'Aaaahhh'. Open your mouth up wide." She spoke, her brown eyes dancing playfully.

Shun looked at her in incredulity. "Fine." He said as he hurriedly took the other plate of cake sitting on the counter.

Alice laughed. Her laugh was so clear, so melodic. Her face, he couldn't help but stare at her flawless features even if it were just for a few seconds.

"Now, that's more like it." She said. "Come on…" she walked over to the little coffee table that was set within the kitchen. She sat down on a chair and waited for Shun to join her.

He showed no sign of movement.

"Well?" she called out. "You might as well sit down, right?" a bright smiled lit up her beautiful face.

Shun gazed at her in amazement.

It had been such a long time since someone had addressed his as if he were a normal person. He was always nothing but an outcast, a monster, a hideous freak of nature. His sister Sayaka was the only one who even remotely cared for him.

He said nothing and walked over to the table as well and took a seat across from Alice.

"New Mission guys." announced Marucho scanning the piece of paper in his hand.

"Is it dangerous?" asked Baron.

"Not really… We've got to convince this little Wexos girl to enrol in the Wexos academy." answered the little blonde.

"Is it really necessary for ALL of us to go on this mission? I mean, it's no dangerous or exciting or anything." complained Ace who was a bit disappointed.

"Well if you don't come then will stop giving us ANY missions saying that we neglect them." scolded Runo.

"Fine…Fine." said Ace raising his hands in surrender.

And so Inferno set out on their next mission/errand. After about two hours of travel they found themselves standing in front of an orphanage.

"Oh...The poor girl is an orphan...It must be hard on her." muttered Julie in sympathy.

"What makes you think it is a girl?" asked Ace. "The kid's name is Jamie, it's heterogeneous."

"It's a girl... My intuition says so...I just know it." answered Julie smiling brightly.

Ace sighed...He still wasn't used to Julie's hyper bubbly nature.

They went inside to meet the person in charge of the place. The orphanage was an ill-kept building, laden with squeaky boards, a musty smell and extremely discoloured walls.

The person in charge was a burly man and he was rumoured to have a very bad temper.

On one end of the room sat a frail old woman in a rocking chair. Her eyes were soft and kind, entirely contradictory to the man who stood in front of Inferno.

Her tired grey eyes fell upon the children but she said nothing, only continued her knitting.

"What're you doing here?" asked the man in a booming voice. "If you want shelter then the answer is NO."

"Talk about rude!" whispered Julie to herself.

"We're here about Jamie." said Ace.

"What about that little freak?"

"Can we see her?"

"Why?"

"We need to talk to her."

"NO."

"Why not?"

"Get out." muttered the man with finality. "We already have to deal with that 'thing'. And now, we have no time to deal with pesky kids.

"Thing?" Run repeated in horror. Her eyes narrowed and her fists twitched. She was infuriated. "How dar-" but she didn't complete her sentence because Marucho had grabbed her hand. He shook his head in disapproval.

"No good will come if you blow your top Runo."

Runo bit her tongue. She had made it a habit to trust whatever the little blonde said even though he was much younger than her. And old habits died hard.

They left and now stood on one side of the street where they still had a full view of the building.

"What now?" asked Baron.

"We sneak in." suggested Julie enthusiastically.

"Hm…" Marucho was thinking but then, Ace spotted the kitchen window open. And through the window peeped the old woman. She motioned for them to come through the back door.

Not wanting to waste their golden chance they made their way to the window.

"The children, they're at the biscuit factory, yonder." Said the lady pointing to a building no the top of a nearby hill.

"Biscuit factory?" repeated Ace. "I see…So they're made to work there all day long…"

The old woman nodded with a look of resentment on her face. "It's cruel…But my son won't listen to what I've got to say."

"Thank you for your assistance." said Baron. "Can you tell us what Jamie looks like."

The old woman nodded. "Jamie, that girl has red hair. Yes, the brightest shade of scarlet. And her eyes are the blue of sapphire…"

Julie looked at Ace with a look that had _'I told you so. Jamie __**is**__ a girl' _written all over it.

Inferno made their way to the biscuit factory.

"Out of all the factories you could build, they build a **biscuit** factory?" stated Julie half-amused.

They went in. For some reason there was only one man stationed there. He thought that they were to work in the factory, so he let them in; no sweat.

And now, they started searching for Jamie. Red hair and blue eyes…

Baron was the one to finally find her. Her face had streaks of flour. She looked at them with fear-stricken eyes when they approached her.

"I'm working…I'm not slacking off." She exclaimed hurriedly.

"Jamie?" asked Ace.

"H…how do you know my name!" she whimpered, close to tears.

"Ace…You're scaring her!" exclaimed Julie pushing Ace aside. "It's okay Jamie… We've come from the WMF…. And we-" (Wexos Magic Foundation)

She was soon cut short by Runo. "Now, **you're** confusing her…" she then turned to the scarlet haired orphan. "You have some special powers?"

Jamie's blue eyes widened in distress. "I…I..."

Runo's expression softened. "You, can create fire?"

"I don't do it on purpose." She defended. "Honest!"

Runo and Baron then spent a considerable amount of time telling Jamie why they were there.

"No…Please don't take me away." The little girl cried.

"It's not a horrible place." said Baron. "We grew up there ourselves…We swear, it's a hundred times better than this place…"

Jamie seemed to consider for a while… But then she shook her head from side to side. "I admit I don't like it here…But then, I dare not leave. Mr. Koch will hunt me down and smite me."

They could sense the fear in the child's voice.

"Quit whining and just come with us, already." snorted Ace impatiently.

"I dare not come…And what's more…I…" her eyes went to a new level of despondency. "I'm dangerous…"

Marucho straightened his glasses. "I think we should give her some time to consider the proposal in peace."

The others agreed. "We'll be back…Let us know your answer then…Alright?" Runo told her with a bright smile. And then she turned around to leave with the others…

Jamie, she reminded Runo so much of herself when she was young.

Things had been tough for her. When her powers had awaked she was immediately classified as an outcast.

That evening when Jamie returned home to the orphanage she was thoroughly scolded by , the owner of the orphanage.

"Why were them kids here to see you? Who were they? Don't you ever even dare to think of leaving this goddamn place...You ungrateful brat."

Tears streamed down Jamie's cheeks as she broke down in sobs.

The next day Runo had set out early to see Jamie. Baron went with her. When they were just about near the orphanage, Runo's eyes widened in horror. "The Biscuit factory...It's...it's burning."

"Jamie." Baron muttered with equal concern.

The both of them ran as fast as they could to the factory. was there on the grounds looking dumbfounded at the burning building. "Why that good for nothing brat." He hissed.

Beside him there were numerous children...Some burnt, some hurt and other just crying for apparently no reason...

A little child softly tugged Mr. Koch's shirt. "Jamie...She's still inside, Sir."

"Don't utter that 'thing's' name." he thundered and roughly pushed the child to the ground.

"Baron." Runo muttered. "Tend to these children's wounds….I'm going in."

Baron nodded. "Be careful."

"I will." And with that Runo dashed into the building. The flames were bright and the smoke suffocating. Runo shielded her nose. She extended her hand and a stream of water emerged out of nowhere and started putting off the fire.

She went through room after room. In the end she found Jamie. The girl was crouched in a corner, knees drawn to chest, tears on her cheek and surrounded by bright sparkling flames.

"Jamie…" It was strange, how this kid reminded her so much, so much of herself.

_*flashback*_

_The scene was that of an amusement park. The place was laden with joyous rides. But on the contrary to what one might expect. The place was quiet. Onlookers stood by, looking at the great clump of ice in amazement. A huge maze of ice now surrounded the place which was originally a swimming pool._

_Big sharp shards of ice protruded from the ground…The ice had also entrapped five or ten kids in its chilling clutches. And in the very middle of this chaos sat a girl with blue hair and matching eyes._

_She sat there hugging her knees to her chest and crying bitterly. "I'm…I'm not a monster…I'm not a water freak." She tried consoling herself. But then, the huge walls of ice that surrounded her implied otherwise._

_Nine year old Runo had come there as a part of a school trip._

_And some kids had teased her, called her a 'washed up water freak' and pushed her into the pool. She did not know how to swim and was drowning. That was when she panicked. And then, the next thing she knew she was in the middle of an icy prison of her own making.__  
><em>_There was a sort of crumbling noise._

_And the ice in one part just crashed down. In came some men with black suits._

"_It's the FBI…They've some to take me away…..To arrest me…To kill me." Runo thought in horror._

_Behind them came two children. They seemed the same age as her._

_The two children walked towards her._

"_Did you do all this?" asked the boy who had brown hair examining the ice._

"_Not…not on purpose." answered Runo, who was still as scared as ever._

"_Don't be alarmed…We've come to help you." said the orange-haired girl with a warm smile. "We are the same as you."_

"_What do you mean?" asked Runo._

"_You shouldn't be scared of your powers…You can control hem if you so wish." said the girl with orange hair._

"_I can't…" Runo's eyes shone with despair. "I can't."_

"_Sure you can…" said the boy. "Watch." Saying this, he closed his eyes and extended his hands. When he opened his eyes, they were glowing a bright crimson. He swished his hand to the side and swirls of fire emerged his hand. The ice melted instantly and the people who had been encased by the eyes were recued._

"_You…..you…." Runo couldn't complete her sentence._

"_Come with us…We can help you…" said the girl with orange hair, extending her hand to Runo . "We can help you control your talents."_

_Runo stared at the two children in awe. They had welcoming smiles on their faces. Without a second thought Runo took the orange haired girl's hand._

"_Come on then."_

_And then Runo walked out of the place. And the boy melted every last bit of ice with his flames._

_Runo later found their names to be Dan and Alice._

_And that encounter is what permanently altered her life._

_*end flashback*_

It was strange that she found herself in a complete reverse of situation.

She walked over to Jamie with a soft smile. "Don't be scared of your talents."

"Talents?" Jamie exclaimed. "You call these **talents**? Can you not see that I am a monster?" tears were more prominent in Jamie's eyes.

"We are the same." Runo said in a soothing tone. "You and I…" saying this, she squatted down beside the scarlet haired girl. "Don't worry…We'll help you get these abilities under control."

"You don't know-" but Jamie didn't continue. She found herself enveloped in Runo's warm hug. That compassion really took her by surprise.

"We're the same…Now watch." Saying this Runo showed Jamie her powers. Runo extinguished the fire with her power.

Jamie was taken aback… "You…you…"

"Now…Come with me."

Jamie did not resist anymore. She felt strangely safe and reassured just because was on her side.

"You're leaving the orphanage and coming with us." Runo told Jamie. She sensed this newly formed trust.

Jamie said nothing, only nodded whole-heartedly.

When they reached outside Baron had already healed children's burns.

Strangely enough, Mr. Koch did not resist as they led Jamie away. Maybe it was because of the glare Runo shot at him. On second thought, it was probably the ice dagger Runo held behind her back that changed his mind.

Whatever the reason Jamie was now free and she enrolled in the academy where she made many new friends... She had finally reached a place she could actually call 'home'.

As for the biscuit factory, it was shut down. Mr. Koch's mother just happened to win a lottery and now, the children went to school and were no longer made to work so hard. Life improved for them.

And Inferno had successfully completed yet another mission.

**Thanks for reading… Please Review…**


	7. Chapter 7

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

**Chapter 7**

Shun was really getting to Dan. The both of them were like oil and water -they just _would not_ mix. Whenever they did interact voluntarily, the situation would almost turn into an all out fistfight.

Presently, Mira was sitting on the couch. Her eyes were twitching in irritation, and an anime-vein stood on her forehead, incessantly growing in size.

Dan and Shun were standing on either side of her.

Dan was repeatedly accusing Shun of something trivial. Shun said nothing, he only kept insulting Dan every now and again. And Mira, she was to function as the attorney!

It was driving her crazy, literally.

"That's enough!" she finally yelled, standing up. "I am sick and tired of this.". Before they could react, she yanked both boys by their collars and shoved them into the nearest room which happened to be Alice's. She then bolted the door from outside. "I won't let you out until you've resolved things." She declared.

"Mira!" Dan growled. But she remained unperturbed.

Just then, Alice reached there. She nearly doubled in laughter after hearing what Mira had to say. "About time." said Alice desperately stifling her laugh. "Although…That is my room." She said. She cupped her hands over her mouth and yelled to the duo inside. "You guys had better NOT mess my room up."

"Yes chief." came Dan's sarcastic voice.

"You've got to be ridiculous to think that shutting me in that room would work." came a relaxed voice.

Alice and Mira almost jumped in surprise. Shun was there, standing beside them, his hands tucked coolly in his pockets.

"Woah! Why are you out here? I could've sworn that I shut you in there with dumbo." exclaimed Mira.

"Hey I heard that!" Dan shouted from the other side of the door. But he was ignored unconditionally.

"The window was open." muttered Shun.

"But this is the fourth floor." said Alice.

"Your point is?"

Alice sighed in defeat. "Okay, so you can jump off the fourth floor of a building."

"Not necessarily."

Alice seemed to consider for a while. She then opened the door, Dan glared at Mira furiously.

Alice turned towards Shun and took his hand, opening the door wide she managed to shove Shun inside using some extra force from her psychic power. She snapped her fingers, all the while flashing a bright smile and then the door swung close.

Just before the door drew shut Shun managed to recuperate. He pulled her inside the room as well, yanking her by the sleeve of her sweater. And then there was this bang, a loud thud and a sort of faint click.

The thud was from the door swinging to a close. What about the click, you ask? It was the lock turning of course. And the thud? Oh now, that's a bit more…entertaining.

Shun had fallen on the floor and Alice on top of him. She managed to prop herself on her hand. As a result, she was just inches from Shun. Her chocolate eyes were wide and her face had a very elaborate blush on it.

Even Shun, the 'don't care' master couldn't help but blush. With faces just centimeters apart and eyes locked they said nothing; only stared at one another for what seemed like eternity. Their brains ceased functioning.

"How long are you guys planning to stay like that?" said Dan, certainly displeased with Shun's proximity to Alice.

"Uh…Yeah…Uh…well." Alice muttered incoherent gurgles as she stood up and straightened her clothes.

Shun followed, it took him only a fraction of a second to recover from the embarrassment. "Jealous, were we?" he taunted Dan.

"You want to invite your funeral that bad?"

"So, exactly how long have you wanted to kiss her?"

"Why …"

"Is that stuttering I hear? Boy, you're madly in love with her."

Alice was blushing now… She had no idea how to intervene in such a situation. "You guys…stop."

"Tell HIM to shut up, Alice." Yelled Dan, he was totally annoyed. "This is totally NOT my fault."

"Now you're shouting at your soul-mate?" taunted Shun.

"Shut the hell up, 'demon boy'. You think-" Dan stopped his sentence short. The second he uttered the word 'demon boy' Shun's face darkened worse than a thunder cloud. His golden eyes gleamed with a sort of burning remorse, and his fists were clenched.

Dan turned towards Alice. "Unlock the door." He said in a tone that was a tad more subtle.

Alice was glad that Dan had the intellect to stop seeing Shun's grave face.

But she wished them to enter a truce. "I'm sorry." She muttered. "I won't allow the both of you to leave until you've resolved your differences." She said, folding her arms in an adamant stance. "My hands are tied."

"They really _will_ be if you don't unlock this place." muttered Shun warningly. His face was still set in the same sullen expression as before.

"Is that a threat, now?" she asked with a soft smile.

Shun just stared at her. The scorn on his face was now replaced by surprise. It was _that _smile which always entranced him. It was that smile which he was unable to foresee, and therefore could _not_ overcome. "Darn you." he muttered, not meaning it in the slightest. He flopped down heavily on the chair that lay beside Alice's desk.

And then, there was silence. Mira, who was bored by now had gone to her own room.

Meanwhile Ace was standing on the balcony of the Inferno headquarters…

He spotted Baron returning from one of his trips to main headquarters.

Ace narrowed his gray eyes as he noticed that someone in a black suit was tailing Baron.

It was the emblem on the person's suit that caught Ace's eye. It was the same strange emblem he'd seen on the tree during the mission to recover that secret potion.

Was he a spy? Was he from a mysterious organization?

Without thinking twice Ace made his way down the building and opened the door that led outside.

The mysterious person made a dash for it.

Ace followed him. "Stop right there" he yelled.

The person paid no heed as he ran with all his might.

"You leave me no other choice." Saying this, Ace snapped his fingers and sent a wave of electricity through the puddle on the ground.

The person stumbled and fell down into the water. Just as Ace was five steps away from him, he disappeared, literally. His body turned into a sort of blue sparkly powder and only his clothes remained.

Ace had managed to take a good look at him though. The figure clad in the black suit was actually a boy who was probably the same age as him. He had dark blue hair, his eyes were concealed by dark glasses and there was an 'M' shaped scar on his cheek.

Baron soon reached the scene. "What…what happened here?" he questioned, looking at the clothes that were now soggy with puddle water... He raised his eyebrow at Ace nervously.

"NO!"Ace cried, raising his hands in denial. "I swear I did NOT vaporize him with electricity."

Baron narrowed his eyes, accusatively.

"Damn it Baron, stop joking."

Baron broke out into a grin. "Fine, fine. But seriously, what was that all about?"

Ace shook his head from side to side. "It's nothing." He didn't want to worry Baron. He knew that although Baron looked tough, he could be as paranoid as a little baby.

"Seriously?"

"Nothing you have to worry about…" Ace walked over to the clothes and picked them up. "Everything's under control." Saying this he walked back into Inferno headquarters.

"When will you stop keeping all these secrets, Ace?" Baron muttered to himself as he watched Ace's back disappearing into the door.

At Vezarius headquarters, more like, in Alice's room Alice was listening to some songs on her i-pod and Dan seemed right at home reading one of Alice's manga. Shun took the opportunity to scan the room. It wasn't as girly as one would expect. Though, there _was_ this little white teddy bear in the corner.

There was this sort of book with a red cover on her desk. Shun lazily flipped the pages and realized that it was an album. On the first page there was the picture of Alice's parents, and she, just a little baby in their arms. On the second page there was Micheal Gehabich, and Alice was clinging onto his arm innocently. Shun wondered why Alice looked so at home when next to . He didn't know that Alice was his grand-daughter after all.

And then, there was a picture of Alice standing next to this brown haired guy with a goofy grin plastered on his face. It was Dan, no doubt. They were both wearing the uniform of the Wexos academy.

And then, there was one of her and Dan supposedly studying. She was wearing glasses and was telling off Dan with a steel ruler in hand.

Shun realized that Dan and her had been the best of friends for a long time now. That explained why he was so protective of her. He may have even developed a slight little crush on her over time.

The following pages were full of pictures of Vezarius.

They all looked so happy, so carefree. It occurred to Shun that he was now disrupting their ability to function smoothly… He had always been that way. He had always been a burden wherever he went; he was always an extra wheel that inconvenienced everyone in his vicinity.

A sort of sigh escaped his lips. He shut the book and stood up from the chair. "Truce." he declared.

Dan was startled. He was astounded that Shun gave in so easily. Alice's face also mirrored the same surprise.

"Alright, truce." Dan admitted.

"Shake hands then." said Alice with a smile.

"I think you're pushing it too far now." Stated Shun.

"No matter."

He spent a few seconds just studying Alice's face and the gentle smile that highlighted her lips. "Fine." He said and then extended his hand to Dan.

After having shaken hands Alice snapped her fingers and the lock opened. Shun was the first to walk out of the room.

Dan walked out as well. Just before leaving he turned towards Alice. "Hey, you know that I don't have a crush on you, don't you?"

Alice smiled at him "Of course I do…We've been best friends since childhood. I can sense _who _the object of your affections is." She said winking.

"Yeah, well…That's a good thing." Dan blushed slightly. "I think."

She giggled at his flustered face.

"One more thing…You _really_ care for him, don't you?"

Alice sighed. "It's just that…Have you seen Shun's eyes? They….they're always immersed in something that seems like remorse…He may seem cold to you, but I just think he's lonely… a bit defensive, even."

"That's not what I think when he keeps insulting me."

"Well, views vary from person to person."

"Yeah, yeah…Whatever…" He ruffled the hair on top of her head. "See ya round." And saying this he walked away.

"Let's just hope that this kindheartedness doesn't lead to your downfall one of these days." He muttered to himself as he paced down the hallway

**That's that…**

**Alright...SO please review guys…**

**And I wanted to upgrade Mira's powers soon, and I only received ONE suggestion. If you have more to suggest then please do via review, okay?**

**Thanks for reading. PEACE.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you sincerely for all your relentless support.**

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

**Chapter 8**

Vezarius was presently on a mission. It was one of those small odd jobs which were dubbed as 'missions' just to make them seem more interesting.

Joe was forced by Alice to stay behind. Shun also stayed behind. Apparently, he had neither the time nor the leisure to indulge in such childish acts of imprudence. He actually said that- word per word. Dan's flared expression when he heard that, was simply a 'must see'. He would've hit Shun right in the face had it not been for Alice's intercede.

Alice, Mira and Dan were walking through a deserted street. That was when it happened. It was all too sudden, too fast, too unforeseen.

About a dozen men clad in black garments jumped out of nowhere and blocked their way.

"Hey what do you think you-"before Dan could complete his sentence, they flocked towards the trio and completely surrounded them.

Dan summoned his flames, eyes glowing crimson. He knew that something was terribly wrong. His instincts were yelling at him to attack. The attacks were fast and rapid. Mira drew a little straw-like thing from her pocket and pressed the red button o it. The little thing immediately grew in size and turned into a staff. Mira held it in her hands, poised for attack.

The little gathering was then engrossed in an all-out battle.

"What do you want!" exclaimed Mira.

No one answered. The men were powerful and ruthless.

Very soon there was a skidding sound as three cars swerved down the streets. In the back seat of one of the cars was Alice's unconscious form. Her face rested on the glass of the window and her lips were parted just a bit. Her eyelashes showed the hint of a single tear.

Dan and Mira lay on the pavement of the sidewalk from where the cars had just left. They were both knocked out as well. Next to Dan laid a shiny blue bottle with a note sticking out of it.

After about fifteen minutes or so Dan was the first one to wake up. He sat up groggily and rubbed his aching head gingerly. It took him a while to fully awaken physically _and_ mentally.

"Alice!" he exclaimed.

It was then that he noticed the blue bottle. He took out the paper and read it.

"_Dear whoever that picks this up,_

_Alice Gehabich is henceforth our captive. Her Wexos powers are intriguingly enigmatic. So much so that we couldn't restrain ourselves anymore… We will be prepared to pay any amount of money necessary. Anyways, the point is- no matter what your answer, whether you want money or not; Alice will remain in our possession. We wish to…run some interesting experiments on her. Hey, tell this to the old man Micheal will you? Tell him- 'The Silver Wheel is back. The abduction of his very sweet little grand-daughter will mark the start of our reign to tyrannical greatness. 'Wexos Academy', what a bunch of baloney! To heck with it.'_

_You gotta admit though, the girl's damn adorable._

_Thanks for reading..__.__"_

Dan stared incredulously at the note. He didn't know what to do. One thing was for sure- the person who wrote this note had a pretty disturbingly weird sense of humour. He might be a deranged maniac for all they knew.

First thing was first he woke Mira up. Te orange-haired girl stared at the note almost as if it were a ghost. "What….what can we do now?" she whispered. The part about the 'experiments' was really bothering her. What kind of experiments?

"We have to get back to headquarters…Right now!" she said tugging at Dan's arm urgently. "If…we reach there then I can use my equipment to find out where Alice is."

"You can do that?" Dan asked her.

'It will just _have_ to be done."

Without much ado they ran full-throttle all the way to a busy high way nearby. They got a cab and Dan kept annoying the driver to speed up.

They stumbled out the car and it was a mad dash. Mira immediately ran to her computer and put on her headphones. She logged onto a website that she had especially made for public surveillance. She then sat there; eyes closed and mind wandering from one place to another.

Dan meanwhile let Joe know of everything. Joe was baffled as well and Shun was nowhere in sight. Dan even ran all the way up to the terrace just to see if Shun was there. But the guy had apparently disappeared into thin air.

"Got it!" exclaimed Mira in relief. She then took out a map and encircled the location. "Alice is here." He said pointing at a large estate.

"We should probably let know." muttered Joe.

"The phone lines are busy." She said. "It's engaged…And if we send an e-mail there's no telling when he'll read it."

Dan's face was solemn as he thought of something. "I will go." He muttered seriously.

"You've got to be kidding me!" exclaimed Mira.

"I'm not." He said. Mira could see from his face that he was not goofing around.

"Listen Dan, we have no idea of how may numbers we are dealing with here." he tried reasoning with the brunette all of no avail.

When Joe realized that there was no use talking Dan out of it he raised a suggestion. "We could always ask 'Inferno' for back-up"

"Say what?" Dan yelled. "There is no way that I'll side with those jerks who always jeer at us-"

Mira had been listening to the two guys talking/arguing for some time now. Her hands were clenched in fists and they were trembling… Alice was her best friend in the entire world. Alice was someone who Mira trusted with all her heart. The thought that she was taken prisoner and that she was probably being experimented on was driving Mira nuts.

"Dan, please be reasonable why don't you! Do you honestly think that we can save Alice like this? What do you think we are? Superheroes? Well, we're not. We have limitations and you need to face them... We stand no chance against those people...They're more powerful, with more resources and powers than we could ever imagine….I mean…We couldn't fight _**'some'**_ of them off…And now, Alice is in their filthy clutches."

"We don't need Inferno."

" This is not the time for egotistic pride, you fool!" she exclaimed. "We are up against big thugs with weapons and amazing Wexos abilities… We are at a lack of resources."

"No-"

Mira cut Dan short immediately "Excuse me, recheck time. _What_ do **we **have in our team? What **do** we have? A person with a tracking power that stands no use; and injured person who can barely use his power without causing damage to himself; a totally rebellious guy who won't listen to anything his team-mates have to say; and then; a hot-headed guy who breathes fire charging blindly into every obstacle relying on brute force... What...what can we achieve?" tears appeared in Mira's eyes and soon flowed down her cheeks. "I want to help Alice. I really do. But being reckless won't help."

Dan seemed taken aback by Mira's outburst. "Now what? Beg to Inferno on our knees?" he muttered sarcastically but he seemed to have complied with asking Inferno for help. "And, you don't have to cry."

"Idiot." Mira muttered wiping away her tears.

Shun had heard the entire outburst from outside the door. He stared at the screen which displayed Alice's whereabouts in green writing. He stared at it nonchalantly. "Whatever." He muttered, tucking his hands into his pockets and walking away.

Joe sighed with relief. Thank God things were settled. He picked up the phone and dialed the number to Inferno headquarters.

Runo was the one who picked up. She was about to jeer when Joe told her than Vezarius needed Inferno's help. But when she heard that Alice was kidnapped, all playful teasing dropped from her voice.

"Where should we meet you?" she asked almost immediately.

"By the Plaza in ten minutes…How's that sound?"

"Sound doable."

Then there was utter chaos in Inferno headquarters as Runo half-barked orders.

"I thought I was the Inferno leader here." Muttered Ace grumpily as Runo forcibly pushed him out of the door.

"Deal with it."

In ten minutes time they made it to the assigned place. "Runo…You are never…I repeat 'NEVER' driving again." exclaimed Julie. "I thought I was going to die…I'm too young to die!"

"It couldn't be helped." Baron defended Runo.

And then Vezarius and Inferno squeezed into two cars. To Joe's contentment he sneaked in without anyone raising question of his 'recovery'. Dan and Ace declared themselves as the drivers, all the while glaring death-glares at one another.

"Two hot-heads behind the wheel…God save us!" exclaimed Marucho.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" the two fumed up.

"Nothing. Nothing…." said Marucho sweat-dropping nervously. "Spare me!"

Vezarius and Inferno thereby started their journey; the cars sped through the streets at a break-neck pace. The whole situation seemed as if Ace and Dan were competing to see who could drive more recklessly.

"Dan…Be careful, don't run into every bump in the road!" called out Runo.

"We're in a hurry girl, deal with it!" he retorted, eyes glued to the road.

"Wait…Joe…You're still sick aren't you? Why are you here?" asked Baron.

Joe cursed his luck by which he was in the same car as Baron. "Uh, well whatever….We can't turn back now."

"If Alice knows…."

"I know Pinky…There's no need to elaborate.

"Who're you calling _**'pinky'**_?"

In the other car Julie swayed lightly from side to side and whined. "I think I'm going to get sick…"

"Don't puke on me!" exclaimed Mira inching away from Julie and subsequently almost squashing Marucho into the door. Marucho's desperate cry came out only as a muffled squeak.

All in all, it was utter pandemonium.

Will Alice be saved from whatever that held her captive? Or will the madly dashing cars accidentally drive off a cliff and leave the story at an incongruous finale?

**Thanks for reading guys….**

**Tell me what you think kay? That's right, don't be shy, go ahead an press the review button down below and pour your heart out.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

**Chapter 9**

When she finally regained consciousness Alice found herself in a room filled with weird piece of machinery. She found her wrists and feet shackled and there were these queer wires attached to her forehead. She soon noticed that she was imprisoned in this sort of glass prison and there were at least a dozen people outside wearing white lab coats. They stared at her as if she were some exotic creature within a zoo.

What made it worse was that they were trying to pry into her mind. The contraption attached to her forehead was supposedly used to analyze the make-up of her thought and telepathic manipulation capability. It was painful and she had to work really hard to conjure up a shield that would protect her effectively. What made it worse was the fact that the intruding force on her mind kept getting stronger and stronger by the moment.

She found herself wondering just how long she'd last before slipping out unconscious, and if that happened then these people would have unlimited access to everything about her.

Sheer desperation fuelled her ability to carry on.

Fortunately Vezarius and Inferno hadn't as of yet driven over a cliff. The cars drew to a stop a few yards away from their destination. To their utmost surprise, their destination was a humongous mansion. The gates themselves were so high that it was impossible to see what lay in wait on the other side.

"There's something weird about this guys." Informed Mira. "I can't sense anyone on the other side… I mean, there are no guards there."

Marucho frowned. "You'd think the place would be heavily guarded… They have a prisoner after all."

"Are you sure Alice is here?" asked Ace skeptically.

"Of course I am sure." Retorted Mira indignantly. "Are you disregarding my abilities?" she fumed up.

"I was just asking. No need to pierce our eardrums." He retorted.

"Guys…focus." muttered Runo forcefully. "This is not time to resolve your lovers' tiff." She added craftily.

"We are NOT lovers." They snapped in unison.

"Hello! We're standing in front of the enemy's gate. Remember 'Alice prisoner' in 'big mansion'?" interrupted Julie.

Joe sighed. There was simply no time to waste, so he scanned the surroundings of the gate and soon smiled "Electronic gate opener? Big mistake." He muttered as he placed his palm atop it and closed his eyes. With his mind he probed the inner mechanisms of the machine. "Alright, get ready guys. We're going to infiltrate.". As soon as he said that there was a slight groan as the huge gates drew open, just wide enough for the teenagers to get through.

They probably should've decided _how_ to split up before getting inside, but now the deed was done and things were most certainly disorganized.

Amidst the confusion, Marucho managed to pull a fast little trick. Soon he was running off towards the right with one arm tugging at Ace and the other at Mira.

Dan, Runo and Julie ended up going towards the left while Baron and Joe decided that they'd try and gather some Intel on the place using Joe's powers to 'bond' with machines.

Mira was most definitely not pleased when she realized that she and Ace were on the same group. She said nothing and refused to cooperate with any plan Ace devised.

Ace sighed heavily. "Listen Mira, this is not the time for personal differences. You know why we are here. Don't deviate from the mission." spoke Ace in exasperation.

"Personal Differences." scoffed Mira scornfully. "You've got to be kidding -" she stopped her sentence short remembering that Alice was probably in danger. "Let's go find Alice." she said abruptly before stalking off ahead.

"What did you so to make her _that_ mad?" Marucho whispered provocatively.

Ace whacked Marucho on the head none too softly before stalking off after the orange-haired girl.

"Curse the moment I thought it would be a good idea to pull these two here with me." muttered Marucho to himself before following them.

Meanwhile in a shiny control room within the mansion were three particular people. In identity they were- the man who wrote the note, his woman assistant and then the boy with the M-shaped scar on his face.

"Sir is it really alright to let those kids in without offering even a shred of resistance?" asked the woman apprehensively.

The man smirked as he straightened the blue mask that clung onto his face. "Well…this is only a warning … A 'test run', a trial to see just how well-versed those kids really are…It doesn't matter if they escape with Alice. What's important is for Micheal Gehabich to learn of our existence."

"Uh Masquerade sir, may I take my break then?" enquired the boy.

Masquerade chuckled lightly. "Sure, why not? Just don't get in _'his'_ way, alright Abel?"

"Who's?" he questioned curiously.

"You'll see when he gets here. Quite a fine specimen he is too…Perhaps you've already been acquainted with one another before. However, the both of you won't mix, definitely not."

"Oh…_Him."_ muttered Abel, forebodingly.

Masquerade chuckled and then turned to his assistant June. "You're right…it's no fun if we don't give those kids a hard time." He said, his eyes glinting. "Especially not **'him'**. Here." said Masquerade tossing Abel a whistle, a circular contraption and a little remote.

Dan's group sped down the garden. Just as they rounded a corner, they were surrounded by a sea of guards all clad in a sort of tacky green polyester suit.

"Now that's more like it." Dan muttered cracking his knuckles.

Julie stood to one side. She knew that her illusions did nothing much when it came to close combat. However she did give the guards an occasional scare or two to distract them. I mean, who wouldn't be scared of a gigantic Tyrannosaurus Rex that popped out of nowhere.

Dan and Runo stormed through the crowd of guards like Fire and Ice, literally.

When they were all done knocking the men unconscious they resumed on their way. The mansion was just so huge. And on just about every corner they encountered more guards. It was starting to tire them out both physically and mentally. They were getting exhausted and worst of all frustrated.

"What, do they practice cloning here or something?" exclaimed Julie. She half-wished that she knew how to wield a weapon effectively.

Ace, Marucho and Mira were caught in a sort of similar situation. Marucho stood back and provided statistical support while Mira fought with her staff. Ace's foul mood really helped quicken the electrocution of his victims.

Mira sighed in exasperation. And just like in one of those movies she raised her face to the sky and shouted. "Where are you Alice!"

"Tacky." muttered Ace under his breath.

"-says the self conceited jerk." She retorted shooting a dagger-like glare in his direction.

"Touché."

As time progressed the children found themselves heavily outnumbered and bone-dead tired. Their stamina was wearing off. There was only so much that a group of teenagers could do to ward off a massive army of well trained professional guards, some of whom had Wexos abilities as well. Dan had no more energy left to summon his fire; he was now fighting with his bare fists while Runo had in her hand a staff similar to Mira's. Ace was exhausted but he could still effectively electrocute people….Joe and Baron were trying their utmost to stay hidden from the eyes of the enemy. Vezarius and Inferno were at their limits and to their dismay it seemed like they were about to loose the fight.

Alice also found herself in an equally hopeless situation. Fatigue was finally starting to catch up with her. Her breathing was by now heavy and labored. _'__No..This can't be happening…'_ she thought to herself as her mind started going blank.

She could hear faint muttering coming from the other side of the glass as she sat on the cold floor. After some time had elapsed the muttering turned into muffled groans. The thick glass prevented her from comprehending exactly what was happening out there.

Quite suddenly she felt the force that tried to pry into her mind diminish and it soon faded away into nothing. She was baffled to say the least. Then there was this sound of shattering glass.

Alice opened her eyes warily; keeping herself from loosing consciousness was a struggle on its own. Her eyes were trained on the ground so the first thing she saw was a pair of sports-shoes. She trailed her vision upwards and was soon met by the figure of her savior. "Shun?" she muttered in disbelief.

His hands were now claws and his teeth were fangs. She stared in awe at the glass that now lay in millions of tiny little shards. He said nothing as he walked over to her, sat down on one knee and swished his claw sideways. She steel shackles that imprisoned her crumbled and fell off like plastic. And with another swish her legs were unfastened.

Alice was so dazed that she neither said anything nor did she react. He reached over to her face and she froze as he tugged at the wires that clung to her forehead.

"Uh…Thanks." She muttered; her face still filled with bewilderment.

Abel watched from the sidelines. He looked at the whistle Masquerade had given him and brought it to his lips. He then blew on it, no sound emerged from it but Shun's face twitched and his fangs grew longer.  
>He clutched at his head in alarm as a sort of sickening pain set in the whole of his body.<p>

"Shun?" called out Alice feeling concerned all of a sudden.

Abel grinned in amusement and he threw the circular thing just right so that it clung onto the side of Shun's neck. Abel then looked at the remote and did a couple of adjustments.

Shun fell upon his knees as his body trembled with the nauseating sensation. An animalistic growl ripped through his throat. He clutched at his forehead harder, trying to prevent or slow the transformation down. He was slowly loosing control over himself. The demon was taking over him and very soon his demonic side took over him.

"Shun?" Alice called out again running over to him with what little energy she had left.

Shun's eyes widened in horror. "Stay away from me." He growled. "Get away…Alice."

"What's happening?" she asked laying a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"I'm loosing control…" he managed. "If you stay here much longer I won't be able to guarantee your safety… With his demonic claw he took her hand away from his shoulder. "Please…go… I…" he gulped as he struggled. "Alice…I don't want to hurt you."

She gulped at the look in his eyes; he seemed genuinely scared of something. "Shun…" she stood up from the ground and deliberated on what to do.

And then a howl escaped Shun's throat. His eyes changed colour and turned blood red. His fangs grew really long. His nails grew in size and his claws looked more menacing and scales covered his skin.. Moreover there was this heavily evil aura radiating from him.

Alice found herself backing away almost on instinct.

Shun, the demonic Shun swished his claw sideways swiftly and blood stained the floor as he slashed a deep cut on Alice's left arm.

She winced and gripped at her arm as blood fell on the floor drop by drop. "Shun?" she called out, only in vain.

Shun- more specifically the monster inched closer towards her and step by step she walked backwards until she felt her back upon a wall.

Shun pinned her to it mercilessly. "Time to die." He said in a husky growl. No amount of struggling did any use, she couldn't free herself nor could she understand what was going on.

Shun bared his fangs as he held his oversized claw positioned at Alice's throat.

**Oops, cliffhanger… Sorry for the long wait guys. Thanks for your relentless support you guys, it makes me happy.**

**Tell me what you think kay? More specifically write me a review or a personal message. Kay?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

**Chapter 10**

Shun pinned Alice to a wall mercilessly. "Time to die." He said in a husky growl as he bared his fangs and held his over-sized claw positioned at Alice's throat.

She tried inching away from the sharp claw. From his narrow golden eyes Alice could see that he had transformed into a totally different person. No; 'person' wouldn't cut the ferocity in his eyes…He was now transformed into a 'thing', an 'animal, a 'mons- Alice paused those irrational thoughts. She now knew why Shun despised his powers so much…

Alice closed her eyes and gulped as she laid her hand upon Shun's shoulder.

'_Shun…snap out of it…Get a hold of yourself.'_ She was using her telekinesis to reach into Shun's conscience. _'Come on.'_

Alice could now feel the stone cold claw against her skin and she used the last reserves of her power to pry into Shun's mind somewhat _**forcefully.**_

What she saw baffled her. Utter darkness… There was only a faint bit of light in the distance and it seemed far away, so distant, so unattainably distant. Alice reached out to the light and the closer she got to it, the further it seemed to recede away from her.

Then quite abruptly she found herself face to face with a silver mirror, a beautiful silver mirror with immaculate carvings surrounding its reflecting surface. When she looked into it; another girl stood in the place of her reflection. This other girl had long straight black hair and bright, cheerful golden eyes. Her smile radiated like thousands of rising suns… She looked like a female version of Shun minus the coldness and disdain.

Without warning, a sort of crack appeared on the mirror and in the next millisecond it shattered into millions of shards. Before she knew it Alice found herself being dragged out of Shun's mind brusquely, like a criminal being led to the gallows.

In the next millisecond Alice found her telekinetic mind back inside her original body, about to be killed by Shun.

Abel snickered softly. "Unfortunately I was ordered **not** to kill you, Alice…Consider it your lucky day." And with that he turned the dial on the remote towards the painted sticker that said 'Off'.

Shun paused, the redness in his eyes dissipated almost immediately and sheer terror flooded his facial features. He was so horrified that he didn't even blush at the proximity of his face to Alice's.

He dropped to his knees with his hands desperately clutching his forehead.

Alice sat down beside him and laid her hand comfortingly on his visibly trembling shoulder. "Back to normal?" she asked, her voice hinted with a tiny tint of fear. "You alright?"

He raised his head and stared at Alice in disbelief. Why was she concerned about **him**? Blood from the wound on her hand had by now drenched the sleeves of her peach overcoat.

"Are **you** alright?"

She nodded. "It was strange though. Shun….What just happened back there?"

He almost winced at the thought. He said nothing as he stared at the blood emerging from Alice's arm. Why was she so oblivious of her own pain?

Alice felt sorry seeing the hurt that flared deep in Shun's eyes. "Never mind…" she said. "Right now, we'd better get out of here."

Shun nodded, but instead of standing up he reached over to her and took hold of her hand gingerly. Alice stared at him in awe as he took out some bandages and started dressing up her wound. "I'm sorry…" he muttered, regret burning through his voice.

"It's alright." She muttered with her gaze still fixed upon Shun's face. She didn't like seeing him in this self-pitying state. "I'm alright; seriously it's just a scratch." She said with a reassuring smile.

"It is shameful." muttered Dan with an unhappy grunt. He sat with folded arms with his back on the wall of their newly found hideout.

"We're 'hiding' from our enemies…How pathetic can we be?" agreed Runo.

"Seriously am I the only one with 'common-sense' around here? We absolutely stand no chance out there. The both of you're exhausted. We're teenagers; _**there're limits**_!" exclaimed Julie throwing her arms in the air. "You should know when to fight and when to flee."

"Silly policy." snorted Dan.

There was a rustle of bushes. Dan and Runo immediately poised for attack.

"See Julie. You were being too loud. And now you've blown our cover!"

"Don't put the blame on me, you two numbskulls!"

To their relief through the bushes came Mira, Ace and Marucho. Mira had tracked them down with her powers.

"You guys alright?" asked Marucho.

"Yeah, they're just exhausted." said Julie indicating Dan and Runo.

"Pathetic." muttered Ace tauntingly.

"Like you're one to talk." scoffed Mira, lightly pushing him with one finger. The push was weak but it was enough to make the tired Ace loose his balance. He would've dropped to the ground had he not caught onto Mira in time.

"Geez girl, what's your problem?" he exclaimed, steadying himself using Mira's shoulders.

Mira said nothing, she only glared at him. "Get some rest, why don't you?" she muttered low enough so that no one else would hear.

"Since when're you concerned about me again?" he asked with equal fortitude.

She gritted her teeth together. "Never mind; exhaust and kill yourself for all I care."

"I will. Thank you." he muttered glaring back at her. There was absolutely no need for her to be so hostile. All that happened was **that** tiny little mistake and now she was practically at his throat. It wasn't like he hadn't tried to compromise… He'd had enough of _**trying**_ to stay on her good side.

He propped down on the ground beside Dan.

"Still fighting?" asked the brunet.

"None of your business." snapped Ace, and then he sighed. "Yeah." He answered Dan's question as he gazed at the blue sky.

"Hm…The both of you are hot-heads, it was bound to happen." said Runo, joining in their conversation.

"As if you're one to talk, miss know-it-all." said Ace with a chuckle. "I guess we'll have to wait for reinforcements."

Runo decided not to clobber Ace for that comment right now, it could wait. She'd have her sweet revenge back at Inferno headquarters. Perhaps a 'deep frozen' lunch or a water bucket on the top of the main lounge door, or… Her mind started hatching plots immediately.

The two boys sweatdropped as they watched Runo snickering to herself whilst rubbing her hands together diabolically.

"Disturbing…." They muttered in unison.

Shun had by now finished bandaging Alice's arm. "Feels much better, thanks." she said raising her arm and moving it around a bit.

Shun looked directly at her face. "Stop smiling…Stop pretending you're not afraid."

"Shun?"

"Stop trying to deceive me…I know it, I'm a monster. I'm an uncontrollable maniac who can fly at you any second….And you…you're terrified of me, aren't you? Admit it!"

"I'm not scared of you." she stated plainly.

"Stop lying."

She took hold of Shun's arm softly. "I know you didn't mean to hurt me… You're really a nice person Shun; although you refuse to let it show."

"You do NOT know that." He yelled. "Don't think that you can-"

Alice cut him short; she was exhausted as it is. "Can we please continue this conversation later?" she spoke, her voice gentle and her face overrode with exhaustion.

Shun grunted, it wasn't one of disapproval, it was one of temporary submission. "Fine." he said as he stood up.

Alice was surprised that Shun actually conceded to her request.She fumbled to her feet; however she was weaker than she'd thought. A sort of dizziness overcame her almost at once, her legs wobbled and her vision started to get blurry. She would've fallen down if it weren't for Shun's arm that held her steady.

Shun stared at her face for a moment as if he were hesitating but then he turned his back to Alice. "Get on." He said stoically.

Alice blinked in amazement. "What?"

"You're in no condition to walk…You'd just stumble all over the place and just slow me down." After saying it, he figured he probably should've been milder-she was so kind to him after all.

Alice sighed. She was stubborn but she possessed enough common sense to know that Shun was right. She couldn't walk much less stand. "Alright then, if it's okay with you."

Shun walked, carrying her piggy-back. Alice was indeed surprised by Shun's current behavior, he'd just been yelling at her a minute ago. To their surprise, no guards intercepted them; they had a peaceful walk- Abel had instructed the guards that it was okay to let them pass.

After a little while Alice felt her eyes getting heavier again. "Hey Shun…" she called out half-sleepily, half-sheepishly. "You mind if I…dozed off for a bit?" she asked doubtfully.

"Hn…"

"I'll take that as a 'No'." she said smiling softly.

"Whatever." He muttered; his cold tone echoing through the hall.

Alice rested her cheek on Shun's shoulder. "Thank you for saving me." She whispered before falling asleep.

Her soft breath fell on his neck as she slept soundly, she was wiped out. Shun stared at her bandaged hand, the one he'd wounded. Would a scar be left behind on her flawless white skin- would it serve as a cruel reminder of the monster that he was?

Dan got up to his feet. "Seriously? We're retreating? What if Alice is going through hell right now? Isn't it up to us to save her?

"Wait…." exclaimed Mira, her eyes widening with surprise. "Alice is moving…She's with another Wexos..And she'd heading this way!"

"Just **one** Wexos?" Dan exclaimed jumping to his feet immediately. "This is our lucky break."

"Sure." agreed Runo and Ace as they stood up as well.

"Alright then… Let's go." Mira led the way as they made their way through the bushes in Alice's direction.

When she reached near the place Mira stopped dead in her tracks, full of astonishment. The others who couldn't skid to a stop in time bumped into her.  
>"What's the big idea?" Dan exclaimed and soon he too was at a loss for words.<p>

Shun was walking in their direction carrying a sleeping Alice on his back. The scene was so completely out of sorts, something that none of them wouldn't have predicted even in a few million years.

Dan was exceptionally spell-bound. As he walked over to Shun he couldn't help this sort of sinking feeling set in his heart. How could Shun be stronger than him? "Good work." muttered Dan rather unwillingly. "I'll take her from here." He said indicating Alice. He didn't want Shun carrying her, he still didn't trust the raven-haired boy enough t …Sure, he'd saved her…But still…

"Are you sure you aren't too weak?" Shun asked back.

Dan glared at him. "Don't underestimate me."

Shun's face still held that same unperturbed composure. "We're in enemy territory… Are you not aware of that? Rationality is a necessity for a sane human being."

Dan clenched his fists. He didn't like Shun, not at all.

"Listen you-" he would've continued if not for the sound of a explosion which rung through the air.

"Let's move." urged Julie. And soon the teenagers made their way out of the building. They'd encountered Joe and Baron on the way and were now out of the mansion unscathed; exhausted; but unscathed.

Mission 'Rescue Alice' had undergone completion quite successfully.

Shun had proved that he cared after all, even if only just a bit.

Alice had witnessed the truth behind why Shun despised his powers so.

Ace had mentally declared a war against Mira, no more was he going to take her hostility without having something to say about it.

Marucho had realized not to use his instincts when it came to Ace and Mira's tiff, it would end up in physical strain and damage/impairment.

Presently Dan felt himself experiencing something similar to an emotional dead-lock. Was he to trust Shun? On one hand, he irritated him to no end; he was stuck up, rude, obnoxious and had never a kind thing to say. On the other hand he'd saved Alice, successfully rescuing her from harm's way. On the other hand Alice- she looked so at ease as she clung onto Shun's neck, _**she**_ seemed to trust him. What was Dan to believe?

Only time could relieve Dan of these suspicions.

**That's it for now…**

**Tell me what you think. I apologize for delays and for any mistakes I might've committed. Seriously, I try to make amends… Uh…Occasionally? :P**

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	11. Chapter 11

**Yo, I'm back…Some of you probably thought that I fell off a cliff or something. :P**

**Anyways I'm sure not many of you actually 'missed' me. SO no harm done, right?**

**Well…Thanks for clicking the link to this page. I much appreciate it. Thank you to everyone out there who love/hate me.**

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

**Chapter 11**

Dan dipped a cloth in water and drained it before placing it on Alice's forehead. She hadn't woken up since the 'Silver wheel' ordeal and what's more, she had a horrible fever. The wound on her arm looked deadly and as of now, she was draped in bandages.

Runo let herself in "I'll take over for now. You should get some rest…You've been at this for two days now."

Dan smiled at her "Thanks for your concern."

Runo blushed and turned away from him. "I was not THAT concerned." she snapped taking a seat next to Alice bed.

For the time being Inferno was crashing at Vezarius headquarters mainly because Baron insisted on it.

Later that evening Gehabich had come to visit Alice. He stared at his unconscious granddaughter and placed a hand on her forehead. "You seem worn out, my dear…I'm sorry. If only I'd sent reinforcements in time…."

His eyes fell on the hoard of bandages draped around her arm. He eyed it suspiciously before unwinding the bandages to reveal the scar. He stared at it long and hard- those marks.

On the way out, asked to be personally escorted by Shun. Shun instantly sensed the tension that radiated from the Doctor's behavior. "I presume that the wound on Alice's arm was your doing?" spoke Gehabich.

Shun gulped; he hadn't thought that he'd be busted this easily.

"Seems that I've made a mistake..." he spoke.

"No…You're…you're right." muttered Shun; accepting the accusation.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry…I didn't do it intentionally. I…" he paused, wondering why his heart was pounding so fast. "I would never hurt her on purpose…."

Gehabich stared at the boy's face for a few moments. Please be more careful in the future." he murmured before leaving.

Shun stared blankly at the door that had just banged shut. The doctor's voice, it seemed almost as if he felt betrayed.

'_You're NOT a monster.'_ Alice's naïve words echoed through his mind and he couldn't help but laugh out in sarcasm. "All just a bunch of lies" he muttered regretfully.

Two days later, Alice finally awoke, having fully recovered from her fever. She smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"You better be." declared Ace. "Because of you, Baron forced Inferno to stay over here…You won't believe how much trouble you've caused me an-"

Marucho nudged Ace painfully in the ribs (he had to stand on a chair just to reach Ace's ribs.) "The girl's only just woken up, for heaven's sake." reprimanded the little blonde.

"Insensitive as always." jeered Dan.

"Some jerks never change." muttered Mira quietly.

"Repeat that it you have the guts, witch." threatened Ace.

"Who's the witch here, pine-face idiot?"

"Well, I'm not the one who had a teddy bea-"

"Listen Mira-" Ace stopped short as pain shot through his ear.

"..ow." chorused Mira and Ace. "Enough!"declared Runo as she pulled both their ears.

"Ooooh… you guys harmonize _very _well together." exclaimed Julie and then she narrowed her eyes deviously. "PERFECT! Clearly made for each other…"

Ace glared at Julie. "Say another word and I'll electrocute you and- Ow…Runo STOP that! I'm the leader, darn it."

In an instant Alice's crystal clear laughter echoed through the room. "You guys'll never chance…" she spoke amidst her giggles.

Joe smiled. "But you wouldn't have it any other way, right?"

She nodded and sat up straight. There was still that residual pain that remained from the scar on her left arm- the wound that Shun caused her. That reminded her. "Where's the lone wolf?"

"Up on the rooftop as usual." answered Joe.

"A man of few words…Seriously, how can he survive all on his own like that!" exclaimed Julie.

Alice laughed. "You're right."

"Anyways, we'll leave and let you rest now." declared Baron ushering the others outside.

After about an hour the door slid open and Julie's head popped in. She flashed a toothy grin and Alice immediately knew that she was up to something. "You've got a visitor." she declared.

Alice stared at girl skeptically. "Who…"

Julie only giggled as she disappeared. There was the sound of pushing and shoving and in the end Shun was sent hurtling into the room.

Julie shot a victory symbol before skipping away happily. Shun stood up and dusted his shirt, he was officially displeased. Alice ended up laughing at the expression on his face.

He stared at the orange-haired girl. She stifled her laughter as she gestured him to take a seat. He didn't know why he sat down on the chair without protest.

"Feeling better?

She nodded with a smile. "Much better, thanks."

"You'd better put a leash on her." said Shun indicating Julie. "I'm still confused as to 'how' I ended up here."

"She's one of Inferno…**We** can't do that." spoke Alice amidst her giggles.

She found that Shun was staring at her injured left-arm regretfully. "Listen…Stop moping. What's happened has happened." She said raising her bandaged arm. "Understand?"

"…"

"Shun… you can't change the past-"

"No…You think I **do not** know that! Listen, **you** might forgive **me** for hurting you, but I sure as heck won't forgive myself." he snapped before walking out the door and banging the door behind him.

She stared at the door and sighed. "What do you mean by that?"

The next day Alice set out to headquarters to visit her grandfather. Presently she was frowning at the elderly man. "What do you mean I should be careful of Shun?" she questioned.

Micheal sighed as he sat back in his chair. "Alice…There are some things that you must be made aware of…"

"Such as?"

"Listen to me patiently…Alright?" he paused to take a sip of water. "Shun Kazami, he's not your average Wexos. He has a whole different personality sleeping within him… Once he transforms more than a certain percentage of his body into a demon's he looses control of himself and he…goes berserk. He isn't able to control that demonic 'thing' that takes control of his body."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"His past isn't the pleasurable one…Seen as a 'monster'; despised by every living thing around him. Circumstance turned him into a problem child. He became a delinquent- picking fights, hurting others, always utterly alone… He's lost control- gone berserk plenty of times before, each with disastrous consequences…Accidentally he even kil-"

"Please stop." interceded Alice. "I'd already figured that his 'past' was why he's so embittered." she muttered in a low tone. "But…It's not right; me learning his past like this… It's almost sneaky. I shouldn't be listening to his past unless he tells me himself."

"I figured you'd say something like that." said Micheal nodding. He looked straight into her granddaughter's eyes. "But you've seen for yourself, haven't you? You've seen Shun Kazami's 'other self'."

"…."

"You probably witnessed the malice in his eyes…."

"…."

"Just be careful Alice… He already sees himself as a monster. I don't want that child to suffer anymore, to hurt anyone, to experience pain _all alone_…That's why I took him into the academy."

"Understood." Alice stood up and saluted at her grandpa before leaving.

Inferno soon went back to their own headquarters…They were by now tired of putting up with Mira and Ace's open war. However, neither Vezarius nor Inferno had any idea that yet another storm awaited them.

"What do you mean 'they' want me back!" exclaimed Mira into the receiver of her phone.

Hearing Mira's tone Joe pushed aside his book and listened to something that might give gim a clue about 'what' Mira was so ticked off.

"I won't…I don't want to." she cried. "I DON"T want to leave…" She then listened to whatever the person on the other end was saying. "It's absurd that they should suddenly want me back… Please , if you were in my shoes you wouldn't want to go back either…"

She listened for a bit to what the other person was saying and then finally tears rolled down her cheeks. "Please I do NOT want to leave Vezarius! No matter what!" she snapped, throwing her phone at a nearby wall and then breaking down into tears.

Joe walked over to her. "Mira…what happened?"

"Uncle and Auntie…Apparently they want me to drop out of the Wexos Foundation and go back to live with them…"

"And leave Vezarius too?"

"Obviously… You want to hear their excuse? 'Mira's Wexos powers aren't dangerous are they? So we figured it would be alright if she lived with us from now on'." She spoke bitterly.

"But…They still _want_ you back… For people like me and Ace who've been thrown out of our homes, it's a dream come true."

For the first time in a month Mira didn't react violently hearing Ace's name. She sighed. "Joe… But I still don't want to leave. You guys _are _my family."

The Vezarius main room was unnaturally quiet despite being packed with the members of team Vezarius and Inferno. Mira stood in the centre, with her face to the ground. "I don't want to leave." she begged for the umpteenth time.

Alice looked at Mira sadly. "But you know the contract. Wexos Foundation is just an institution…The families of the Wexos in question always have a final say in whichever matter."

"They're lying…I'm sure of it… I mean, _they've_ always known that my powers weren't dangerous. They've _**always**_known…But after my father's death they didn't hesitate even for a second before 'discarding' me. So why _**now**_ why this sudden realization/decision? Why now!" she cried, her eyes flooded with tears. "Why now?"

Baron was already sniffling childishly. "We'll miss you."

"Stop saying that!" exclaimed Dan. He placed his hands on Mira's shoulders. "If you don't want to leave…We won't let them take you."

Mira stared at Dan in awe. "Seriously?" she muttered breaking out into a watery smile.

"Wait…" spoke Joe. "Maybe you should just go back for a bit…I'm not implying that you should stay _there_ or leave Vezarius. But a little holiday to find out what brought about this sudden change in their point of view won't hurt, will it?"

Mira considered for a bit then shrugged. "Well…I don't know."

"Come on Mira, think about it…You can have a normal life."

"You won't need to be an outcast."

"You'll be accepted in society."

"We'll be happy if you can live without regrets."

Mira gazed at her friends. She knew that they were only concerned for her own well-being…But why couldn't they see how much they meant to her? Why couldn't they see their significance in her life?

"FINE!" she declared. "If you guys want me out of the way that badly then I'll LEAVE!" she cried out, her voice cracking in desperation. "Goodbye." She stalked out, slamming the door behind her.

She loathed her sudden temper…But, now there was no turning back…

The room was as quiet as a graveyard… The silence was interrupted by Marucho's crying. "I don't want her to leave!"

"None of us do, Marucho…" spoke Alice softly. "We don't want her to leave." She spoke as tears flowed softly down her snow-white cheek.

But if she stays with her family it'll be for her own good. She can bury her history as a Wexos and start afresh." stated Joe matter-of-factly.

Runo nudged Ace in the ribs. "You know you want to." she muttered knowingly.

Ace, who was quiet until then stared at Runo. He then stared at the door. "I can't…It'll only make things worse."

"Go." Alice said almost authoritatively, her brown eyes staring deep into Ace's grey ones.

"Fine." The door once again slammed shut as Ace went after Mira.

There she was standing on the balcony adjoined to her room. Ace took in a deep breath. This time he'd have to be downright specific. He walked towards the balcony and stood right beside her.

Mira froze in obvious surprise as she saw who the person was. No witty insulting remark would escape her lips. She stood there, looking at the setting sun, ignoring the green-haired guy beside her.

"You're seriously considering this?"

"It's none of your-"

"Mira…" he muttered seriously. "Answer me." His eyes were grave as they gazed into hers.

She gulped as she looked away from him. "Maybe."

There was a long silence. Mira was desperately trying to ignore the fact that her hear was beating so fast, almost painfully against her chest. Without warning more tears cascaded down her cheeks.

Ace moved closer to her. He pulled her face to look directly at him. "Don't leave." He muttered plainly.

He gently brushed away her tears with one arm while he held her hand with the other. "Please don't leave." He repeated as he interlaced his fingers with hers. All the while, he looked deep into her eyes with that excessively sincere emotion."Please don't leave." He whispered yet again. His actions only induced more tears, each of which he immediately brushed away.

"Ace…"

"Oh…" he muttered almost regretfully. "I almost forgot that you despised me." He pulled away from her with a hopeless smile on his face.

"Ace..wait-"

"Since you hate me…You'd probably do just the opposite of what I just asked. Being the stubborn person you are, you'd probably leave just because I asked you **'****not'** to…" he said sighing heavily. "In that case…" he paused, still staring at her with that same intense gaze. "I want you to leave…no matter what."

He then turned away from her and walked out of her room.

"No Ace wait-" she called out after him too late. He didn't hear her and so Mira was left standing there all alone. 'Please don't leave'. That tone in his voice, it haunted her for some reason.

"I…I don't hate you Ace…" she whispered to herself in vain. "I…I don't despise you."

**Phew…Got that one down.**

**I wonder if this chapter was too long. Oh well…**

**So what did you think? Tell me via a review kay?**

**REVIEW please.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

**Chapter 12**

Mira stared wordlessly at the huge packed bag that sat on the platform of the train station with Vezarius by her side. Mira stared vacantly into the distance and almost jumped when Alice placed a hand on her shoulder. "Waiting for someone?" she questioned softly.

Mira managed to put on a small smile. "I guess... But then Alice...Shouldn't I be mad at him? Why do I feel so...so confused? I should be ready to rip his head off his neck but now I'm lamenting that he hasn't shown up to bid me farewell...I'm pathetic aren't I?"

"Not necessarily... you should've listened to his point of view."

"It's not like that should make a difference... I mean, you saw it too right? You were with me when I saw him kissing Emilia...You heard him when he told Emilia that he loved her and only her; that** I** was just a 'convenient' little puppy dog that followed his every word..."

"Yes but still, shouldn't you have some faith in him? And I'm sure he's already told you that he doesn't want you to leave."

Mira shifted her stare to the train track. _'Please don't leave.'_ Ace's voice still echoed in her mind. "I don't know what to believe anymore...Why do I still hope for him to show up around the corner? Why do I just want to forget the 'Emilia' incident- am I really that desperate? I'm going crazy here!"

Alice smiled softly and laid her hands on Mira's shoulders. "You're going to get somewhat of a break now... Sort everything out...And come back with answers, alright? Everything will be alright by then... If you wish, I could talk to Ace for you."

"No...You shouldn't."

"I won't make any promises."

Finally a train stopped at the platform. Mira picked up her bags. "See you." she spoke with a wavering smile before getting in.

She settled down on a seat and poked her head out a window. "I'll be back..." she shook her fist at Dan. "So don't even think of entering my room..."

Dan grinned widely. "I'll 'think' about it."

"Don't push yourself too hard, Joe. And you, **newcomer**, a smile or two won't hurt." spoke Mira before sitting back down. The train soon started moving and the members of Vezarius minus Shun started waving wildly at her. Only Alice noticed that longing gaze Mira shot around the platform searching for a certain green-haired guy.

Alice closed her eyes and focused her telekinesis to someone hiding behind a pillar. _'That was mean of you, Ace.__ You should've showed yourself.'_

'_I guess... At any rate it wasn't like she was sad at not having seen me or anything.'_ came the reply.

'_You should've seen that look in her eyes... Then-'_

'_I'm leaving now...And how many times have I told you not to barge into my mind without permission?'_

**XXX**

Alice hummed a subtle melody as the elevator headed for the rooftop. She knew for a fact that he was there... She wondered if it really would be a good idea to discuss this with him... Would he be willing to reveal his past to her? From the sound of it, it didn't seem all too pleasant.

She walked over to the usual spot Shun would sit for hours on end. "Good evening." She greeted only to receive no response. "Mind if I join you?" she persisted.

He said nothing and Alice sat down beside him nonetheless. "Why do you insist on being alone?"

"I like it this way." He muttered locking his golden eyes with hers. "And I've told you before...Stay away from me...If you want to be safe."

"I can look out for myself, thanks."

"Yeah, that's why you were kidnapped so effortlessly." muttered Shun sarcastically.

"You know, the other day...My grandfather told me something..." Alice took in a deep breath as she drew her knees to her chest and continued. "He asked me not to let you suffer anymore... He told me a little about you, how you were a problem child and-"

Shun leapt to his feet defensively, his face drenched in anger. "How much do you know?" he half-growled.

"Calm down..."

"Answer me."

"I am answering..." she spoke calmly "Once you turn more than a certain amount of yourself into a demon, then...another personality takes over...Something you can't control...You picked fights a lot, people isolated you. And at times, you lost control of this other self."

"AND?" he barked.

"That is all I know."

"Don't lie." He growled taking hold of her shoulders roughly.

She raised her eyes and stared straight back into his intense golden orbs. "Why must you always accuse me of lies?" she asked, unfazed by Shun's temper.

Shun stared at her, long and hard... There was this intrepid innocence that radiated from her soft brown eyes, he could just never avoid that. His glare somewhat softened as the grip on her shoulders slackened.

"Now for the risky part." muttered Alice. "I want **you** to tell me the rest."

Shun stared at her incredulously. Had she lost her mind?

"I'm serious." She spoke. "I can see it from your face, Shun... I can sense that there's something from your past that's haunting you. I can see that you despise your powers and at times you despise yourself. There's this bitterness in you, this unexplained disdain towards your Wexos ability. I want **you **to tell me why **you **call yourself a monster."

"It's none of your business."

"Shun Kazami, let me help you."

"Just shut up and leave."

"Listen to me...I may not fully know what you've been through... But you shouldn't hate yourself."

"If only you knew what I've done..." he whispered in so low a tone that Alice didn't hear.

"As a Wexos, instead of fighting your powers you must embrace them. Instead of rejecting yourself find a way towards acceptance... See your powers as a gift."

"Easy for you to say..." retorted Shun through clenched teeth."You're not the **'thing'** going berserk."

Alice gazed at Shun sympathetically.

"I don't need your compassion, Alice..." he muttered."Look at that scar on your arm, recall the demon you saw that day."

"Shun..."

"**I'm** a monster..." he yelled.

"That's enough!" yelled back Alice. "Self-pity is just a way of making excuses to **not** face your own faults... Drowning in regret is NOT the answer Shun...You need to establish control over your Wexos self."

"You think I haven't tried!" he yelled back at her. "You...You'll never understand."

"Let me try then." she said holding out her hand to him. "Let me try and understand...For your sake."

Shun stared at her as if she were a ghost. He felt a sudden urge to let go of this pain he'd been keeping to himself, an urge to trust the girl in front of him...

"You can confide in me...I won't tell anyone, promise." She spoke

Shun gulped, probing for a decision. Subconsciously, not even realizing it he reached out to Alice's hand, taking hold of it. Fragile, he noted, hesitantly staring at that untainted smile that formed on her lips...

They sat back down on the platform, their hands still curled together. "Everyone was against me." Shun started speaking. "I was a little demon after all...My mother had passed away and my father couldn't stand the sight of me. My grandparents shunned me, I guess that's what drove them to naming me Shun." he added with a dry chuckle that Alice knew didn't come from amusement. Gently, she stroked his hand that still held hers.

He paused in surprise but then continued. "Everyone hated me, my classmates, my teachers- everyone...And so, I chose to hate them back...That's when my older sister came back to town...Sayaka Kazami, the most optimistic person you'd ever meet... She was the only one who ever loved me, the only one who ever smiled at me, the only one who ever attempted to understand me. She always stood up for me; she wouldn't let others talk ill of me... And for me, I needed no one else... My sister meant the world to me..."

Alice suddenly remembered the black-haired girl she'd seen in Shun's mind previously...How, the mirror had shattered, how the background was of the color of blood.

"One day the mayor came to see grandpa and suggested to throw me away...My grandparents were more than happy to 'sell' me off. But, I didn't want to be some sort of merchandize...I ran away...Sis probably had no idea of this scheme...but I'd blindly assumed that she supported the decision too...I felt enraged and-" he stopped short.

Alice stared at that look on his face. "It's alright... If you don't wish to continue you may stop."

"I don't want to say it." he murmured. "I don't want to admit it..."

"Shun..."

"I..." he pulled his now trembling hands out of her grip. "I...I...I killed my own sister." He spoke raising his hands. "I killed my sweet innocent older sister with my own two hands." Tears rolled down his cheeks. "I killed off, the only person that meant the world to me."

Alice stared at Shun in shock.

"I can never forgive myself for that...NEVER..." he turned to her. "Now look at me, Alice...and confess... I'm a monster."

"If I told you that I'm not shocked; then that would be a lie." She took in a deep breath as she placed her hands on his cheeks, looking directly into those repentant golden jewels. "However...I also believe that you didn't do it on purpose...If you had, then you wouldn't regret this much..."

Shun almost winced at the kindheartedness on her face. What was she- the re-incarnation of an angel?

"I..." he stopped short as Alice moved forwards and pressed her forehead to his.

She closed her eyes. "Surrender your memories to me." she whispered. "Show me the memories of your sister's death."

Shun blinked a bit but then complied, closing his eyes... Why did he want to trust this girl so wholeheartedly? Alice used her telekinesis to probe within Shun's mind. And then she saw it...

_*Memory*_

_Shun sat curled in a dark corner of come forgotten cave._

"_Shun? Shun? Where are you shu-shu?" came a female voice._

_The voice soon disappeared but there seemed to be a light coming from the cave entrance. Little Shun crouched further into the darkness as he pulled his knees closer to his chest. His golden eyes were almost glinting in the darkness._

"_Here...he's here...The little monster, he's here...guys..." came over-excited voices__._

_A hoard of teenagers, mostly those who were about seventeen to nineteen years old came into the cave__-__ armed with sticks and huge rocks._

"_Let's kill him...make him suffer for every time he's threatened us."_

_One of them raised an over-sized stick to hit Shun. But Shun sliced it into half with his claws..._

"_Be careful, dimwit...He's a ferocious beast." _

_They started throwing rocks at him and at a certain point Shun's eyes started shining with a demonic red. His fangs grew in size and an animalistic growl ripped through his throat. He'd transformed into his inner demon. He snarled threateningly as he paced towards the now terrified teens. His claws razor sharp and his eyes positively deranged. He swished his claws to one side and the scent of blood filled the air as a guy dropped to his feet, clutching his bleeding arm._

"_Shun!"__ the female voice sounded again. Sayaka stood at the entrance of the cave, her face brimming with horror._

_Shun momentarily stopped his mindless rampage. She ran up to him. "What are you doing?" she urged shaking his shoulder._

"_Enemy..." muttered Shun, stil__l under the control of his alternate self. "Eliminate all enemies..." he raised his claw to his sister's throat. "You are... my enemy too..."_

"_Shun... I'm sorry." She spoke as she crouched down to his height. "I won't let you suffer anymore... You'll be safe...I'll watch over you, I swear."_

"_Lies..."_

"_Shun."_

"_Get away..."_

"_Shun...come back to your senses..."_

_Quite secretly the oldest of the teenagers sneaked up on him, with a dagger in his hands. "Die you monster!"_

_The moment the word __'__monster__'__ escaped his lips Shun howled wildly and lunged forwards at him, aiming his claws at his throat. Just as both the attacks almost reached their targets Sayaka intervened__-__ with arms outspread she jumped in the way. "I won't let you hurt anyone, my dear little brother." She whispered with tears streaming down her cheeks._

_The red colour in Shun's eyes flashed and all of a sudden dispersed giving way to his previous golden colour._

"_Sis..." he muttered as tears formed in his eyes... His face twitched in anguish as he noticed his hand penetrating her chest and protruding from her back. Yet she still smiled..._

_As life slowly trickled out of her she engulfed Shun in a hug. "It's not your fault...Nothing was ever your fault... You're a good boy, Shun... You don't deserve to suffer... Please...forgive me." And then her eyes drew to a close forever._

"_No...NO...This...can't be happening...NO!" Shun's pained shriek echoed throughout the cave. "SAYAKA!" _

_*Memory End*_

When Shun opened his eyes he was surprised to see tears in Alice's eyes.

"Now...You know..." he muttered "Despite all the love that she gave me, despite all those hear-felt promises she made to me...I killed her. Sayaka, she deserved to live a long, happy life...My other self, it's appeared from time to time...giving me more things to feel remorse for."

"I do understand why you distance yourself from all of us." spoke Alice. "You don't want a repetition of that incident..."

"..."

"Let's work together then...We'll try and find a way for you to triumph over that demonic personality."

"I doubt that-"

"Oops..." muttered Alice holding up a hand to Shun's face in a 'please stop' signal "Forgive me, but every time I look into someone's mind this vividly I exhaust my powers...I'll need to take a rest." she murmured standing up shakily.

For some reason Shun stood up as well. He took hold of her arm. "You look ready to collapse." he commented as he supported her shoulder, leading her to her room.

"Sorry about this." she said with an exhausted smile.

"For someone who listened to my wretched tale...I should at least do this much."

For some strange reason she felt like she'd got close to Shun, that he'd bared his heart to her even if just a little bit.

**XXX**

Mira sat in her room at her Aunt's place. It was almost as if there was this alien invasion in her home and her Uncle and Aunt were replaced by two different people.

They were so sweet, they were kind and they almost fussed over her. It was puzzling her. What was with this sudden change?

She sighed as she gazed at the bright blue sky and smiled...She didn't know what came over her relatives but this change was definitely for the better.

Unbeknownst to her, her Uncle was attending a phone call.

"She suspects nothing?" came a voice from the other end.

"No...It's a good thing the girl's so dense." answered her uncle.

"Remember now treat her like a Queen and convince her to leave Vezarius and once there's no room for suspicion hand her over to us."

"And the payment?" asked the uncle.

"As promised- 2 million dollars; in cash. The money will be delivered as soon as we get the girl."

"Excellent."

"Handle things efficiently." ordered the voice with a maniacal laugh before hanging up the phone.

**And so that's that... :)**

**Sorry to those who were expecting more AcexMira, next chapter kay? I just totally felt in a mood to type out Shun's past.**

**Hope you like it. Oh yes, spoiler time- next time Ace is going to pay Mira a little unexpected visit. So, how do you think the meeting will go? Tell me via a review kay? (scouting for ideas :P)**

**Thank you for everything...and don't forget to REVIEW.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for reading guys. **

**Here is the THIRTEENTH chapter (unlucky?). But then again, I've never really believed in thirteen's bad-luck. I mean****,**** my thirteenth story had thirteen chapters, if I were concerned of bad-luck I wouldn't have done 'that'****.**** It was an assassin story by the way :)**

**Anyway, on with this story.**

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

**Chapter 13**

A week passed and Mira couldn't believe what was happening. Her uncle and aunt, they were so warm, so hospitable, so kind... Slowly but surely Mira began thinking that it wasn't so bad having been forced on this one month holiday... That was, until something strange began manifesting itself.

"Hey Ace! Where the heck do you think you're going? We have a mission!" exclaimed Runo as she stalked after the green haired guy.

"None of your business..." he muttered.

"Hey, if you bail now is going to cut short all our missions, do you hear?"

"Don't care." he retorted as he sped up his pace.

"Stop right there." commanded Runo, using ice to freeze Ace's shoes to the ground so he couldn't move any further.

"You should know by now Runo..." muttered Ace, turning to Runo, his grey eyes dead serious. "Water conducts electricity...So, I'd be careful if I were you."

Runo wasn't someone who was easily intimidated, but she still suspended the ice that had captured him..."I see, you're severe when it comes to Mira. What're you going to do? **Stalk** her?"

"If push comes to shove, then **yes**." he muttered walking away.

She hadn't thought that he'd be this straightforward. "You're still in love, admit it already." spoke Runo with a wide smile.

Before walking out the door, Ace turned to Runo with a smile that matched hers. "As if **you're **one to talk... Your relationship with Dan is still a question mark."

"I know...But at least I'm not lying to **myself**. **I** know very well how I feel."

Ace chuckled. "Then tell **him**." He spoke, giving sufficient stress to the 'him'. "See ya."

"Whimsical idiot!" she called after him as the door closed with a click.

"That was an interesting conversation..." piped Julie, appearing out of nowhere. "It was nice listening to two oblivious thick-headed people talking about **'fe****elings'** when you hardly know/understand the meaning of r-o-m-a-n-c-e."

"Shut up."

"You're better off than Ace though." continued Julie giggling all-knowingly "The one **you** love doesn't want to rip your head off."

"We have a mission. Go get the others." muttered Runo wearily. She knew that she could never win against Julie in a 'verbal' argument especially if 'love' was the topic.

"Roger that." The silver-haired girl gave a victory pose before skipping off.

Dan let out a major yawn as he walked into Alice's room.

"You can knock, you know." she spoke, momentarily lifting her eyes from the book she was reading.

"Give me a break..." he muttered, flopping down on her couch. He fingered at the frilly cushions. "How come your room has a couch while I barely have room to walk around?"

She fought back her smile as she turned back to the book. This wasn't the first time Dan was complaining like this.

"And I have to share with _'that guy'_."

"..."

"Oh come on, don't ignore me..."

"You're impossible when you're like this, Dan... We've discussed this plenty of times before... You should give Shun a chance."

"You **'like'** him?" Dan yelped as the book Alice had been reading hit him smack in the forehead. It was big, it was heavy and worst of all it was hard-bound...Why couldn't Alice read thin books like normal people? He rubbed his forehead gingerly. "And why am I the only one who experiences your violent streak?"

Alice sat up on the bed. "Sorry..." Her brown eyes met his. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"I get the feeling that there's an intruder. It's just intuition though."

"You've got to be kidding m-" Alice stopped her sentence as she spotted something or someone swish past the open door. "Dan!"

"Way ahead of you." he muttered darting down the hall. He looked around but there was no one there. "Strange..."

Just then, Shun came pacing down the hall. "So **you** were the one sneaking around?" he asked Dan indolently.

Dan immediately whirled around. "I knew it." he muttered. "Someone **was** here..."

"Hmmm..."

"There's never been so much as an infiltration _attempt_ before." spoke Alice. "It's sort of strange that this should happen just when Mira happens to leave. It's almost as if 'that person' knew that our tracker wasn't here."

Shun sniffed the air. The scent of that intruder, he'd smelt it somewhere before... But he couldn't really remember where.

"Wait." muttered Dan, crouching in a corner.

"What is it?"

Dan was busy collecting something. After that, he raised his palm for the other two to see. Alice gasped as she saw the sparkly blue powder in Dan's hands.

Shun stared at Alice's shocked expression. Why was she so taken aback?

Slowly and shakily Alice extended her hand and examined the powder between her fingertips. "Able... It's 'him' for sure." she half-whispered.

"Who?" asked Shun, he was truly lost.

"He studied here...at the Wexos academy..." muttered Alice quietly.

Dan placed an arm on Alice's shoulder as he took over the explanation. "He was a sort of 'genius' in the academy. His grades were top-notch and he had a promising future in the research dept... But then, two years ago he disappeared without a trace."

"Hn..."

"His ability is instant teleportation. When he teleports he leaves behind blue powder just like this."

"There was a rumour that he had some sort of disagreement with my grandfather." interceded Alice.

Shun raised an eyebrow. "Why sneak in here then?"

Dan scratched the back of his neck as he hesitated for a bit. "Well, he rather...**adored **Alice."

"**Adored**?" Shun didn't know why but that term sort of disturbed him.

"Yeah, he would follow her around whenever he was free despite being an ultra busy senior. He was always asking her out on dates, and whenever she refused he'd only laugh and say something along the lines of- 'Someday I want you to fall for me, okay?' And he totally hated me for being Alice's best-friend." explained Dan, a smile tugging his lips at the memories.

"It was nothing, it was nothing." Alice shrugged as she walked into her room, blushing a bit.

Dan stared after her and laughed. "She's just as embarrassed as always."

Mira hummed softly as she made her way to the front door. The doorbell rang again, this time sounding almost impatient. "Coming, coming." called out Mira as she opened the door.

The very next moment she banged it shut. "Go away!" she told the person on the other side.

"I'm stronger than you." came the answer as the other person began pushing the door, trying to open it again..

After a few seconds of pulling and pushing, Mira could feel her grip slipping. _'This is bad, this is bad'_ she thought to herself, closing her eyes and pushing as hard as she could.

The person on the other side seemed to be getting more and more impatient by the moment. In the end he gave one last, powerful shove and Mira was immediately thrown back. The door flew open and Mira was sent on a collision course with the ground. Only, she never actually hit the ground. When she opened her eyes she came face to face with Ace who had his arm around her, saving her from falling.

"You...Why are you here?" Mira hissed.

Ace only threw an irritating smile at her. "Care to take a guess?"

"To throw yourself off a nearby cliff?" she suggested scornfully.

"Ouch."

"Get out of **my** house."

"Last time I cheched you 'hated' this house." he retaliated. "You disliked the people in it too."

"Well, things change with time." she spoke with her chin raised. "And **they've** turned over a new leaf; unlike '**some obnoxious people'**. "

"Double ouch...You've turned bitter, Mii-chan."

"Don't call me that!" she exclaimed, snatching the bag from his hand and hurling it out the door.

Ace stared somewhat dolefully at his belongings which were now strewn on the ground. It turned out that he'd forgotten to fasten the zip and considering that Mira had flung it none too gently his clothes were scattered all over the place. It was only then that she noticed that Ace's things had actually landed straight in a puddle of dirt.

"Honestly!" she sighed as she walked past him and out the door. She started picking up his things one by one. "You're such a pain..."

Ace gazed at her for a while before joining her with a chuckle. "Thanks."

Mira froze what she was doing for a few moments. "What is **'this'**?" she questioned through gritted teeth.

Ace looked over, only to see Mira staring at a candid photo of herself. His eyes widened and he snatched it away from her in sudden panic. "Nothing, nothing, nothing at all." he stuttered, stuffing the photo into his pocket.

There wasn't anything particularly incriminating about the photo itself. It was in actuality a very good picture. Mira had a gentle smile on her face and there was even a flower in her hair.

"W...when, w...who took that?"

"Aha..ha..ha.. Not me..." Anyone with ears could make out the nervous guilt that resonated within that laugh.

After having collected everything, Mira stuffed them back into the bag rather unkemptly.

"Hey, you know...I'm supposed to wear 'those' in the near future." muttered Ace, indicating the dirt that still clung onto most of the fabric.

"Hm...It was my fault, so I'll wash them for you." she spoke with narrowed eyes. "Come for them tomorrow."  
>Ace could see that Mira had sort of softened up, and also that she was also mildly glad he'd followed after her. So he decided to push his luck a bit further. "Does that mean you won't let me stay over?"<p>

"Well, if you absolutely have nowhere to go-" she paused seeing Ace's elated expression. "-then you can stay out in the woods." she completed with a huff.

"Aw Mira..." From the look on her face he knew she wouldn't give in any further. "Fine, fine. I'll come for them tomorrow. I won't disturb you any more today."

Mira held the bag with trembling hands as she watched Ace walking away. She suppressed her urge to call out 'wait, don't go'.

Ace turned towards her, his expression suddenly very serious. "There's something...different about you." he said, barely loud enough for her to hear. "You're still the very same person, but it's almost like your entire aura has been altered...Ah never mind...it's probably nothing." saying this, he started walking away again.

Mira's eyes widened as the bag fell from her grip. "You can tell?" she whispered more to herself than to him. She sank to her knees and stared down at her trembling hands...

She closed her eyes and clutched at her forehead. Ace was absolutely right, she** had** changed... Now that she thought about it, this 'change' had begun a week ago when she had come down with an untimely fever. She barely remembered her aunt and uncle 'fussing' over her. And then...yes, someone had come to see her. That person was wearing a mask but he didn't look like a doctor in the slightest. He had then injected something into her, something that put her through a world of pain. It was at that exact moment that she began to feel odd.

She stood up shakily and walked to her room and flopped onto her bed. She buried her face into the pillow as her head started hurting like crazy. "It's...happening again..." she whispered through gritted teeth, clutching desperately at her sheets.

.

While Ace was walking, the Earth abruptly started shaking and trembling. Was it an Earthquake?

"There it is again!" cried one of the panicking shopkeepers.

"How many times has it been this week?" exclaimed another person.

The earth quaked for another five minutes or so. After it had come to a stop Ace studied the surroundings. "Ma'm, were these caused by the earthquakes too?" asked Ace, motioning to huge somewhat eroded cracks in the ground.

"Yeah... This place has been very unstable lately... We've had nothing but earthquake after earthquake. People are even starting to move away."

Ace arched his eyebrows. "Then why isn't the media reporting any of this?" he asked. He was one who regularly watched the news and there was not a single report of these 'frequent' earthquakes what-so-ever.

An elderly man cupped his mouth with his emaciated hands. "Apparently someone has been paying bucket loads of money to prevent the reporters from highlighting this." he spoke secretively.

"I see." muttered Ace as he once again embarked on his endeavor to find a hotel. "Wait!" he told himself, freezing in his tracks. Why hadn't Mira mentioned it? No matter how vexed she was at him, she'd have told either or Alice at the very least... "There's something wrong here." he concluded, breaking out into a sprint, heading towards Mira's home.

Just as he was only a few meters away from Mira's house, the Earth started shaking once more, this time more violently...

Ace rapped at the door impatiently...The neighbour's dog was going berserk and barking like crazy. When no answer came, Ace turned the door handle and walked in cautiously. He had never been the type who'd give up just like that.

He couldn't help the feeling that the earth was shaking more and more violently the more he proceeded forwards, like it was increasing in intensity.

He peeped into a room and what he saw stunned him out of his wits. Mira was crouched upon the floor, clutching at her head, eyes shut almost painfully. And there was this brown fog around her.

"Mira!" he exclaimed. "How...It's **you**?" he whispered, actually meaning to utter the sentence- _'You are the one who caused all these earthquakes? But how?'_

Mira raised her head to look at Ace. If one said that she looked petrified, it would be an understatement. She opened her mouth and closed it again, unable to say anything. As Mira's heart started beating faster in apprehension, the earth only began shaking more violently. "I..." she blurted out, tears escaping her eyes. "Sorry..."

Crashes echoed from here there and everywhere as things were thrown to the ground by the shaking Earth.

Ace was still more than a little flabbergasted. But, seeing the mortal terror in her eyes, he crouched down beside her and put his arms around her in a warm hug.

"Calm down." he whispered, pulling her head to rest on his chest. "Remember...These special powers are a part of you as a 'Wexos'. Your ability, it shall yield to your desire...Calm down, take a deep breath and extend your conscience softly upon your dormant ability..."

Mira closed her eyes and listened to the soothing ring of Ace's voice. Her breathing eased up and her heart-rate slowed down to normal as she let his words carry her, slowly, softly.

"You are one with your abilities. Feel the power resonate within yourself and then embrace it, accept it as a part of yourself." instructed Ace. He was in reality only telling Mira the exact same words had told him way back when.

"Accept it?" Mira repeated almost as if in a trance. "-as a part of...myself?" she whispered. All of a sudden she tensed up, her pupils dilating and her entire body twitching. "That's just it..." she muttered as memories of a week ago rushed into her head all at once. "These powers... They are NOT a part of me!" she yelled in alarm. "These are **NOT** mine! Someone...someone put them there..." she managed to say, struggling to breathe.

"What?"

"Someone put...them...in...**my** body..." she shrieked, half choking on her tears. In the next moment she fel unconscious and the Earth stopped shaking.

Ace couldn't shake off that ominous feeling which slowly extended its icy fingers over his heart as he stared at Mira's unconscious form. "What exactly is going on here?" he muttered to himself as he slowly wiped the tears off her cheek. "Mira..."

**Yeah, so I can't write a single chapter without Shun appearing at least once, sue me! *nervous laugh* No, Don't take me too literally, so no suing please.**

**Well my exams are finally over so my friends and I had a get****-****together. You won't believe what a rip-off the arcades in my town are (by the way there's only just one arcade in total)****.**** But we had fun so I won't complain. :D And I only just missed the chance of winning a plush toy by a mere seconds' difference. Oh well, sorry for boring you guys with this but I got the feeling that my rants were getting depersonalized?**

**Anyways please REVIEW.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi everyone! I'm back ****to do this story after**** a Looong absence. Miss me? XD**

**Sorry if you thought I'd abandoned this story line or something, my deepest apologies.**

**Vezarius Inferno**

**crystal-mist**

**Chapter 14**

Mira's eyes slowly drew open and she stared at Ace in alarm. "Ace..." She didn't know what to say or how to explain.

After a long stretch of silence, he finally spoke. And he couldn't have framed his sentence more clumsily! "Mira, what's happening to you?"

Mira slumped down. "It's been a week now, with these earthquakes... I know I'm the cause, but I can't to control them. I...All this time, I didn't know what to do!"

"That's why you have a damn **cell phone**. If you didn't **want** to call **me,** you could've at least contacted Alice." he exclaimed, harsher than he'd intended.

She winced at his tone. "I'm sorry..."

His expression softened "Uh...I didn't mean to yell...Just tell me what you can remember."

"Right." she explained everything from the men in the mask and silver-haired coats to her Uncle's apparent cooperation with them. "They said it was a...test." she finished, eyeing Ace anxiously, knowing he'd fly off the handle.

And she was right, Ace was absolutely furious. "They used you as a test subject?" muttered Ace menacingly, light sparks of static escaping his body "And your **'family'** let them!" he thundered in a fit of rage.

He was pig-headed and unfaithful, yes. He'd flirt with other girls from time to time even though Mira was his 'girlfriend', yes. But hell, he was over-protective. If anything, his smoldering expression was proof of **that**.

"Ace please...calm down." she begged, placing her palm on his. Her expression oscillated between despair and pain as traces of his electricity leeched into her body, half-shocking her.

Ace pulled his hand away and took a deep breath, willing away the sparks on his finger tips. After a few seconds he turned to her. "Listen, I know that you and I are still in the middle of _'that fight'_... "

Mira nodded. She could still remember him flirting with Emilia all so vividly in her mind. She waited for him to speak.

"I'll explain what happened. I'll explain everything to you, as many times as need be. But right now, even if you hate me with all your heart, I won't let you push me away." he spoke, eyes locking with hers. "I will help you! Whether you like it or not, do you hear?"

"You're...so...unreadable." she muttered, her voice still weak. "I can never guess you're going to say."

"Right..." Ace smiled slightly before giving into temptation. "Sorry, can't hold back anymore." he spoke as he moved forwards and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug.

Mira said nothing as tears rolled down her cheeks. "You're also...very selfish."

"I know..." he whispered into her hair. "Sorry."

"..."

Alice stared at the receiver of the phone almost as if it'd suddenly come to life and smacked her right in the face. "W...what do you mean Mira's 'missing'?"

Dan watched in half-amusement as Alice stalked the length of the hall over and over again.

"What the!" exclaimed Alice, "She did NOT elope. That's idiotic! Tell her aunt for me!" After a little while she slammed down the receiver. "What's with that look?" she demanded, pouting at Dan.

"What's with that 'elope' talk?"

"Oh...That!" Alice explained how Mira'd gone missing. "I hope she's okay." murmured Alice an anxious expression on her face. "Also, she's been spotted being carried by a green-haired guy."

"Carried? Piggy-back or bridal style?"

"That's NOT the point!" exclaimed Alice, hurling a random cushion in his direction.

He laughed, catching the cushion before it hit him smack in the face. "She'll be fine... Mira's tough, so stop looking so gloomy."

She smiled softly realizing that he was just trying to lighten the mood. "Yeah, okay."

"So?"

She stared at him for a second or two and soon giggled."Piggy back, **not **bridal style."

"Shoot, I was betting on bridal-style." he winked.

Shun walked into the room, his face just as blank as ever. "That needlessly over-excited silver haired girl's here. And she's spouting absolute nonsense."

Alice stood up. "Stop making up weird adjectives. Her name's Julie." she scolded Shun as she stared around the corner. Julie was arguing with Runo VERY loudly whilst Joe and Marucho followed wordlessly.

"Sorry to barge in, Alice." she said with a little salute. "But your waltz lessons shall commence as of his very moment!"

"Waltz?" exclaimed both Alice and Dan in unison.

"Like I said, absolute nonsense." affirmed Shun under his breathe.

Julie explained how they were going to crash this random high-class party for their next mission. "So...Pick your dates, NOW!" ordered Julie.

"WHAT!" everyone exclaimed.

"You didn't think you could waltz 'alone', did you?" she demanded, stomping her foot impatiently.

"I'm too short to waltz." muttered Marucho, pouting. From the looks of things he really wanted to dance.

Alice elbowed Dan in the ribs. "What're you waiting for hot-shot? GO!"

"Ouch! Fine! You don't have to fracture me, woman." he whined, sticking out his tongue before walking over to Runo. He held out his hand. "Can I have this dance M'lady?"

Her aquamarine eyes hovered over him, a hint of hesitation in them.

"This time, you can't bail, like at prom." he said, smiling.

"F...Fine." muttered Runo, taking his hand.

In the very next minute Julie went into dance-instructor mode. "Marucho, go sit in the corner. Since Joe knows how to waltz, you're my partner. That means, you're stuck with the gloomy newbie Alice."

Shun's nonchalant golden orbs widened in alarm. "Don't expect me to be a part of this."

"It's an order from so don't even think of bailing." affirmed Julie closing the door behind her, sealing away their only mode of escape.

Alice only giggled as she stared at that astonished look on his face. He was clearly taken by surprise and he was seriously cute without that standard frown of his.

Julie clapped her hands and a subtle 3/3 melody started ringing in the air. She hit Runo on the back "Don't tell me, you don't even know the waltz position?" she teased

"I know..." exclaimed Runo indignantly.

"Then what are you waiting for, go be all snuggly with Danny-boy." and with that Julie pushed Runo into Dan's arms.

"Julie!" Runo shrieked. The silver-haired girl was clearly pushing things right now.

"Too close." murmured Runo, blushing whilst in Dan's arms.

"Start! 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3." Julie counted in tune with the song as she and Joe waltzed around the room gracefully.

"Ow."

"Sorry."

"Ouch."

"Sorry."

"Ah."

"Sorry."

"Ou-"

"This is WHY I don't dance!" exclaimed Runo. "I suck big time, I **KNOW** that! I didn't want to** EMBARRASS** myself in public! I **HATE** this!" she yelled, pulling herself away from Dan's grip.

Dan stared at her flushed expression. "Is that why you ditched me on prom?"

Her blush deepened."Maybe..."

"And here, I thought you hated me or something." laughed Dan as he doubled over and sank down to his knee.

"You don't have to mock." pouted the blue-haired girl.

Dan only smiled as he softly took hold of her foot and removed her shoes.

" . what are you-"

"Now, you can step on me how much ever you want." he said with a wink. "It won't hurt."

"Oh..." Runo blinked a few times in surprise. "T...thanks."

Alice giggled. She half doubted if her grand-father was doing this just for fun. Shun- who was standing next to her- motioned at Dan and Runo. "They seem to be awfully smitten."

"Well, they date on and off."

Shun seemed more than a little surprised. "On and Off?"

"Yeah, they're really stubborn so they mostly date, get into a fight, break up and then date again. But they'd never even dream of dating someone else. They're sort of hard to understand."

"..."  
>"You two, less talking, more dancing!" Julie called out to them.<p>

Alice nodded but burst into a fit of laughter in the very next moment.

"What?" asked Shun.

"Sorry...I just... can't imagine **you** dancing!" she admitted.

An anime vein popped up on Shun's forehead. He walked forwards and took hold of Alice's hand. He pulled her into the waltzing stance and started leading her around the room in a perfect waltz.

Alice was dumbstruck. She was average at dancing but now by the way Shun lead her, her feet were moving in perfect synch with the utmost ease. "W...w...what!" she exclaimed.

"My sister was very forceful in some matters."

"She taught you how to dance!"

"More like forced."

"Well... this is unexpected."

"I swear this thing is choking me!" exclaimed Dan, tugging at his bowtie.

Most of them ignored him, but Alice walked up to him and snatched the goggled from off his hair.

"No!" he whined, flailing his arms wildly, trying the snatch the goggles back. "Give me, give me. I'm nothing without my goggles.

"NO ONE pairs goggles with a tux, do you hear me? I excused you on prom, but not today!" scolded Alice before walking off, twirling the goggles around her finger.

"Your attitude's a waste of that beautiful dress." he yelled at her back.

She briefly turned around and stuck out her tongue to on side, winking.

Shun mentally kicked himself when the word 'cute' scrolled through his mind when he watched her. What was wrong with him!

"Alright, so we split up here. We're looking for a suspicious silver suitcase about yea big." explained Julie drawing a square in the air with her finger. "And mostly focus on silver suited people."

"Assembly Disperse."

"Right."

Runo let out an exasperated sigh after she'd walked into the ballroom arm in arm with Dan.

"What's wrong?" questioned the brunet.

"The music!" she exclaimed, looking half terror-stricken.

It was only then that Dan noticed that it wasn't a 3/3 song. "So, no waltz?" he gently pet her blue hair. "Don't worry. Everything's fine. We won't take to the floor unless it's waltz, kay?"

Runo stared at him wide-eyed. "You're sort of freaking me out. Since when are you **this **considerate?"

He laughed goofily but then his expression turned dead serious. He clutched at her arm and motioned to, their right; there he was, a silver coated man with a silver suitcase. And what's more he was wearing dark glasses indoor, definitely suspicious. "I didn't think we'd run into the person this soon." muttered Dan as they tailed the man through the crowd.

They followed him out into the courtyard. He quickened his steps and forked his way through the garden.

"Should I freeze him in his tracks?" questioned Runo.

"No, for now let's just follow him."

Runo stared at the back of the man's silver coat. Wasn't he being too incautious for someone who was transporting secret goods? "It shouldn't be this easy to tail someone from the silver wheel organization. Unless-" she paused as the faint scent of gun powder reached her nostrils. "It's an ambush!" she shrieked, erecting an ice wall to shield both Dan ad herself fro the numerous gunshots that echoed through the chilly night air.

The man turned around to face them with a maniacal smile on his face. "Get them." He shouted. And as if on cue about a dozen people came out from behind the bushes. They held weapons in their hands.

"Well at least they aren't all Wexos." shrugged Dan, moving out of the ice wall.

"Sure, that is a plus." affirmed Runo. "But half of those are stun guns so you'll be paralyzed if you aren't careful."

"I know, I know. I'm not as stupid as I look."

"So that means you admit that you look stupid!"

Dan sighed. "Listen honey, this isn't the time to bicker."

Runo felt her face flushing at the 'honey' so she started going on an ice-spraying rampage, freezing anything and everything around her in a matter of seconds. Dan shook his head from side to side in disbelief. Those men were caput and he didn't even have to lift a finger.

Runo turned to him, a triumphant look on her face. "I got all of them!"

Dan gently pet her head. "Yeah, you got them, Tiger."

"You're being extra-kind, it's extra-weird." she muttered, hurriedly pulling away and taking hold of the silver suitcase. Inside there was a bottle of purplish liquid and a mirror adorned in silver, the exact contents Julie'd told them beforehand. "Does this mean the mission's over?"

Dan sent a text to Alice and soon got the reply. "She says we should keep on alert just in case this one is a decoy. And also, that right now, they're playing a waltz song so it would be okay if we danced for a bit."

For the first time Runo's face brightened up at the word 'dance'. She'd practiced oh so hard. She laughed to herself, secretly praying that she wouldn't step on Dan anymore because she was wearing hard stilettos and it would absolutely hurt like hell if she did.

One of the men entrapped in the ice smirked as he stared at their disappearing backs. "The actual plan has only just begun." He muttered shadily as his body turned translucent and he slipped out of the ice with ease.

Alice and Shun twirled around the floor, keeping an eye out for more sliver coats and suitcases. "It's weird, that organization. Why would anyone in their right minds make everything the colour silver? Isn't that insanely obvious? Won't it stand out more?" Alice was ranting almost endlessly.

Shun was fascinated by just how 'relaxed' she was being around him. No one treated him this way, like he was...normal.

She abruptly froze in her tracks. "I...need to check something out." She explained before speeding in the direction of the open bar.

Shun only watched as she made her way to a particular guy seated at the far corner. He had dark blue hair and matching eyes but the most striking feature was the M-shaped scar on his cheek. He sat there, gazing at a glass of what seemed like champagne pensively.

"Senior Abel?" called out Alice, half in doubt.

The man shot out of his trance-like state and his eyes widened on seeing Alice. In the very next moment he face-palmed and rubbed his forehead. "Great, now I'm even hallucinating about her." he muttered to himself.

Alice giggled as she reached over and poked his forehead with her index finger. "You're not hallucinating."

His expression instantly brightened as he smiled widely. "It really is you, Alice Ah come, come take a seat!"

"But I thought you dropped out of the academy! There was next to no new about you!" she exclaimed, her hands on her hips and still not sitting down.

"Were you worried?" he questioned teasingly.

"Yes! Even Grandfather wouldn't tell me-" she paused in surprise when Abel took hold of her hand and pulled her to a stool beside him.

"Okay, okay I'm sorry. I meant to contact you, I swear I did. But I was just so angry at your grandfather, so I guess I displayed it by cutting off all ties with you."

"So...what disagreement was that anyway?"

Abel's expression turned grave all of a sudden. "I'd rather NOT talk about it."

"Oh... Sorry."

The drifted off into a uneasy silence. Alice was the first to break it. "I know you're old enough. But you should keep your alcohol to a minimum." she said, motioning at his glass.

The tension eased and Abel smirked. "You want some?"

"No thanks."

"Come one, try drinking it." he urged.

"Is this what they call 'bad company'?" she teased.

"You don't trust me?" he asked, staring deep into her chocolate eyes "I'm your ever loving senior."

Alice giggled as she took hold of the glass. If anything, Abel was trustworthy and she knew it. "This isn't alcohol, is it?"

He laughed as he shook his head. "It's soda, flavoured soda. I wouldn't even dream of doing something that my dear Alice wouldn't approve of."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You still haven't given that up?"

"Apparently not." he chuckled.

She asked him about the blue powder she found in the Vezarius headquarters but he deinied having any thing to do with it, and of course she believed him.

They chatted for a while, after which he stood up. "I got to leave now. Don't tell your grandfather that you saw me." He said, slipping her a card with his phone number on it. "And...Keep in touch, kay?" he whispered and placed a light kiss on her cheek before walking away.

"Senior!" she yelled after him. "I told you not to do things like that!"

"Sorry, sorry." He laughed. "Couldn't help it."

Shun watched from the sidelines as Alice stared after Abel, with her hand on her cheek, blushing slightly. "Why?" muttered Shun to himself. "Why does 'he' smell just like the place Alice was held captive when kidnapped?"

Outside the building Abel took out his phone. "Mission complete." he spoke into it.

"Good, so you met her and reinstated her trust?" asked a male from the other end of the receiver.

"Yeah... Alice...she doesn't doubt a thing." affirmed Abel.

**End of chapter**

**I promise to update faster, even my other stories. SO please don't desert me just yet. Keep giving me your valuable support. Love Y'all.**

**And REVIEW please? :D**


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